The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-05-17
A TORCH IN THE DEPTHS
The Gas Caught Fire and the Explos'
ion Followed.
MINER WHO BORE The TORCH WARNED
Little fire Followed the ExpIosiOn Which Vent
I'd Itself through the Air Shaft ard AL
most D moliShed The Building
at The Surface,
at the Surface.
(By the Associated Press.)

(By the Associated PreSs.)
Fairmont. w. Va, May 15.-Six miners
lost their lives, FIVE were fatally injured
and three seriously burned in an exrlo-
sion at the shaft of the Georges Creek
Coal and Iron Company at Pennington,
seven miles west of this city on the main
line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
this morning. The dead are:
MAYNARD BEATTY, of Warrington.
JOE NICHOLS, of Homecoming, Md.
]. II. EMERSON, of Everson, w. v.
DAN ALFERREL, of Pennington.
JOE DOMINICK, Italian.
TONY PHILLIPPI, Italian.
The injured:
CHARLES CARPENTER, fatally.
CARL HUNTER, fatally.
HERRELL EMERSON, fatally
JOSEPH BLANEY, fatally.
ITALIAN, fatally
JEFFERSON FAST, badly burned.
THOMAS BAINBRIDGE, burned and
bruised.
ITALIAN, burned and bruised.
The Georges Greek Company has head
quarters in the Equitable Building, Balti-
more, and extensive mining interests in
Maryland. This is the first mine the COM
pany has opened in this State and fully
81 900, 600 has been invested and the mine
is one Of the best equipped i'll the Fair
mont coal region. Colonel r. l.. Somer-
vile, an experienced and capable mine
superintendent has charge of the works.
The mine was only recently put into oper-
alton and about 125 men were employed,
only forty of this number underS round.
Owing to shortage in the car supply the
men have only been making about half
time for several days, but yesterday quite
a number of cars were left at the nine
and the management decided TO brea6 all
records with today's output. So bright
and early this morning the miners who
reside in cosy cottages on the hill top
above the mine made their way to the
main opening and the car carried them c53
feet into the earth.
Fifteen of them were assigned
to portion of the mines that
has been worked for some time and the
remainder were put to work OIL headings
quite a distance away. One of the men
in the rooms, it is alleged had Struggled
a torch into the mines as it gives so
much better light than the safety lamps
prescribed by the company. There is an
immense fan which sends 5000 feet of
fresh air into the mines at every revolu :
tion and as the shaft was considered one
of the safest in the region the miner did
not heed the frequent warnings of a fell
low employee who warned him of the risk
he was taking. At 9:15 the miner fired a
shot and the smoke which was verr
dense, caught fire from the torch aid
spread to either the gas or dust and the
explosion resulted. Fortunately the mine
did not catch fire TO any extent. The ex-
plosion vented itself through the air shaft
and almost demolished the building on the
surface in which the fan was located. The
men on the headings did not know there
had been an explosion until notified. The
air was soon turned IN and in short
time the headings were cleared of foul
gases and the work of rescuing the I'M
fortunates commenced. 1t was five o'clock
before the work was concluded This is
the most serious explosion that ever
occurred in the Fairmont coal region.