1930 — Feb 6, Standard Coal Mine Gas and Dust Explosion, Standardville, UT          —     23

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 2-1-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–23  Bureau of Mines. February 6, 1930; Standard Mine, Standardville, Utah; 23 Killed.

–23  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mine Disasters.

–23  United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Standard.

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines. February 6, 1930; Standard Mine, Standardville, Utah; 23 Killed:

“(From Bureau of Mines report, by D. J. Parker and R. I. C. Manning)

“At 8:50 p.m., about the time of the explosion, 26 men were working in No.1 mine and 3 men in the connected No. 3 mine. Dust issued from the portals of the rock tunnel, and the abandoned main entries of No. 3 mine but did not damage or stop the fan, as the explosion doors over the airshaft were blown off. This short-circuited the air until the covers were replaced 2 hours later.

“A 2-mile trip in deep snow was required to reach the airshaft. The explosion was violent in No. 3 mine but did not extend into No.1 mine. The 3 men in No. 3 mine were killed, and 17 of those in No. 1 died in the afterdamp. Five of the men in No.1 mine successfully barricaded themselves in a room, using boards, props, and brattice cloth. One of them left the barricade to obtain still more material and was overcome… He was found by a rescue party 12 hours later and revived by artificial respiration. The other four were rescued at the same time unharmed. Another unconscious survivor was also found with two dead men, and he was also revived.

“Rescue crews and equipment were called from the nearby Spring Canyon rescue station and from other mines. Apparatus crews recovered the three bodies from No. 3 mine, but other work of recovery was done as ventilation was restored. Three men of a fresh air crew were killed by a falling roof slab on February 7.

“Gas accumulated by leaving open one or more doors and was ignited by an open-type mining machine in No. 20 room barrier crosscut. Coal dust was thrown up and ignited, so that the explosion became widespread and violent. Rock dusting and rock-dust barriers had been applied to a few locations, but not enough to check an explosion.”

NIOSH: “02/06/1930  Standard  Standardville  UT  23  Coal  Explosion  UG [underground]  Coal.”

Sources

Bureau of Mines. February 6, 1930; Standard Mine, Standardville, Utah; 23 Killed. Accessed 2-1-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/1930_Standard_Report.pdf

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), CDC. Mining. “Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present.” Accessed 2-1-2025 at: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Standard Coal Company Standard Mine Explosion, Standardville, Carbon County, Utah, February 6, 1930, No. Killed – 23.” Accessed 2-1-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/standard_news_only.htm