Hundreds attend Remember Wilberg premier at EHS

By Patsy Stoddard
Editor

The premier of the Remember Wilberg documentary was presented at Emery High. There were two showings. The morning show included the students from the high school, students who weren’t alive at the time of the Wilberg Mine Disaster and don’t have memories of it like the older citizens of Emery County. Several of those interviewed for the documentary came to the evening show. The documentary was three years in the making by Elaine Cullen and Mark Cline. Cullen thanked all of the miners for all the interviews. The documentary was produced with a grant from MSHA.
Cline said he was honored to make this film. His students from the University of Arlington were involved with interviews and putting the film together.
The film began with shots of the communities where the miners live. They dig coal to provide electricity to this rural community as well as the nation. Coal miners are proud, hard working Americans. It takes courage to be a coal miner.
There are people of all backgrounds in the communities. It’s a beautiful place to live and raise a family, but all coal miners know what can happen.
The film showed the interviews of those miners who were involved in the rescue efforts and those who worked at the mine.
Kevin Tuttle said Wilberg Mine was an excellent mine. It was a good producing mine. The mine operated with two long walls, one on 13th right and one on 5th right.
The miners described long wall mining as the most productive mining. The long wall cuts out the coal and then the mine caves behind the long wall.
There were 28 people in the section the night of the fire, Dec. 19, 1984. That night there were extra people in the mine as the mine management went into the mine to cheer on the crew as they attempted to break a production record.
Miners are very competitive and took pride in mining large quantities of coal.
The power in the mine went off between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Dick Cox said he got a phone call the mine had lost power and he needed to find out what was going on. The mine needed to be evacuated.
Valdez said there was a lot of smoke in the mine.
Cox said the fire was out of control and that men were still in the section and the power was off and no water.
Ray Guymon said they had provisional power to power the pumps for the water. There were people behind the fire.
Kenny Blake was able to find his way out of the mine. He said it was very smoky in the mine. He got on the phone and said they needed to get people out. He felt his way down the entry. He found two guys and told them to put on their self-rescuers. All three of them put on the rescuers. Blake headed out the belt line. He kept his hand on the belt line. He didn’t see the other people again. The belt line was hot.
The self-rescuers have one hour of oxygen.
Mine rescue personnel began entering the mine with hoses working to put the fire out. Word spread fast and mine rescue personnel from other mines began arriving.
They described the scene as chaotic. The heat from the fire melted the aluminum water lines. The mine resembled hell on earth as the fire continued to grow and spread.
The senior mine management were within the mine.
At that time there weren’t a lot of people who knew a lot about mine fire. Approximately 30 teams came to the support of the Wilberg miners.
Men went into the mine and installed curtains and erected steel stoppings. The fire was where the fresh air base was located.
The rescuers knew the dangers, but they were focused on rescuing their friends. Ken Valdez said he would do it again. The rescuers were exploring every available space where they thought the miners might have tried to make it out. Some went down sixth right and the tailgate. Some of the rescuers suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning and were hospitalized.
Jim Behling said there were some people trying to fight the fire without apparatus. The apparatus is heavy and contains four hours of oxygen, but weighs about 50 pounds.
The smoke from the fifth right return kept getting denser and denser. There was a cave in the intake and you could see flames. The fire was so hot that in places where they had already put the fire out it rekindled.
The pipes carrying the water into the mine melted and had to be replaced. The fan was still running and the fire was still getting oxygen. The water was super heated as it hit the burning coal and the water broke down into H20 and the hydrogen would ignite. Flames shot over their heads and those fighting the fire were caught in the middle.
The rescuers said the heat was unbelievable. Three ton of coal was burning per minute. The ash from the burning fire settled everywhere. “It looked like rock dust had been set off,” described one miner.
The men were running on adrenaline and didn’t want to quit fighting the fire to rest. Someone who was familiar with the mine went in with each rescue crew.
These mine rescue teams risked their own lives to try to save others.
The first miners who had passed away were found in the dog leg. The guys didn’t have a chance. The poisonous fumes from the fire hit the miners real fast. As the rescuers continued down the return they found all but two of the miners. They couldn’t find Jim Bertuzzi or Gordon Conover. They started recovering the bodies, but the fire continued to work it’s way through the stoppings. If it continued the way it was the rescuers would be trapped. On Dec. 22, it was determined from all the factors that the mine was getting ready to explode. They needed to get everyone out and evacuate the mine.
The fan needed to be cut. One of the miners had a rifle in the back of their pick-up and they went up in a helicopter and shot out the radiator.
The men who were interviewed said they are still haunted by the images from Wilberg Mine. It was a dark time. There were men in the mine who would not be home for Christmas and have not been with their families for 33 years.
Everyone in the community bound together to get through the tragedy. It impacted the community, the miners and their families and everyone who heard their story. People around the country were praying for the miners. It was a rough time for those left behind as well because 500-600 people were without jobs that had worked in the mine that was now closed.
The families thanked the rescuers who had the courage to try to save their family in the mine.
The decision was made to seal the mine.
Carl Pollastro mentioned how amazing it was that no one was injured in the recovery efforts.
The film will be used for training of new miners. Many safety advances have been made in mining due to the lessons learned from the Wilberg Mine fire.
The veteran miners encouraged everyone to remember their training. You are responsible for your own safety. If you see someone doing something that’s unsafe teach them the correct way to do it. Always remember to put on your rescuer, don’t wait for smoke to do that. Wear your goggles. The carbon monoxide can seep into the ducts on your eyes. It will deprive your body of oxygen.
Increased and better training for miners has been established since the Wilberg fire.
The aluminum pipes have been replaced in mines.
The young miners were encouraged to pay attention to the old timers who have a reservoir of knowledge about mining. This knowledge will lead to safer mines.
Valdez cautioned miners to Take your training seriously. He said a miner taught him to Learn to listen to those around you. Listen to Learn.
Going home to your family at the end of the day is the most important thing. Be safety conscious.
After the film there were a few questions. Cullen said, “It’s your story. It was important for you to see it first. These are hard lessons.”
Val Payne spoke of his time at Wilberg and being involved in shooting out the fan. He felt when that happened all hope for Wilberg was gone.
Paul Conover who lost his son Gordon in the disaster, personally thanked all the rescuers involved in their efforts in fighting the fire. “Thank you to all the people who went above and beyond and did all they could. God be with you. We will meet again.”
Film creators said this film will make a difference because the people here were willing to share.
The DVDs were passed out to those present and they will be available at the local libraries for check-out.