Smith Mine disaster
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2011) |
45°09′36″N109°11′32″W/ 45.16000°N 109.19222°W
TheSmith Mine disasterwas the worstcoal miningdisaster in theU.S. stateofMontana,and the 43rd worst in theUnited States,according to theNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH).[1]
On February 27, 1943, at approximately 9:37 a.m., an explosion ripped through Smith Mine No. 3, a coal mine located between the towns ofBearcreekand Washoe. Since it was a Saturday, there was a short crew in the mine. Of the 77 men working that day, only three got out of the mine alive,[2]and one of the rescue workers died soon afterward. The report from theUnited States Bureau of Minesstates that 30 of the men were killed instantly by the explosion, and the remainder died either because of injuries sustained in the explosion, or because ofsuffocationfrom thecarbon monoxideandmethanegas in the mine. The explosion was deep underground, and was not heard at the mouth of the mine, despite having enough power to knock a 20-ton locomotive off its tracks 0.25 mile (0.4 km) from the blast origin.
All of the bodies were removed from the mine. There is a highway plaque near the mouth of the mine, which was never reopened, and there are memorials in the cemeteries in Bearcreek and nearbyRed Lodge,the county seat forCarbon County.
The explosion was attributed to a build-up of methane gas in the mine. The cause of detonation is unknown, but various reports note that men were allowed to smoke in the mine, and that fuses for blasting were lit with matches.[3]
The site of the disaster is included in theSmith Mine Historic District,listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2009.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^NIOSH mining statistics
- ^Kuhlman, Fay; Robson, Gary (2015).The Darkest Hour: A Comprehensive Account of the Smith Mine Disaster of 1943(3rd ed.). Red Lodge, MT: Proseyr Publishing.ISBN9780965960946.OCLC54315391.
- ^Resnick, Susan Kushner (2010).Goodbye wives and daughters.Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.ISBN9780803217843.
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