The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-11-15

is not badly damaged, al,..c the blast scattered tl.in- lol and a motor was de..roJ !. -As , company has a replacem,
 There were 32 on the F rc.l ;. the time of the eXplo-icn, 70 .,-L- two shifts, and 19 men we-- a-- tually at work.
 The Commissioner pointed out that the tragedy emphasizes the inn portance of safety work huch as IS being carried on by Safety Engin- ger Humphrey for the U. s. Bureau of Mines. Had self-rescuer equip ment been in operation at the mine he believes many of the men who died would have been able to save themselves.
 The Commissioner paiG warm compliment to George R. Miller, former mine safety inspector, who took charge until the arrival of Stewart and Humphrey; Maurice L. Sharp, Bureau of Mines coal ana lyist, and the rescue crews from the Eska mine and the Black Diamond, all of whom did excellent work, he reported.
 The following intoruia.-Jn is con- tained in the formal report made by the Commissioner:
 1-Concentrated accumulation of inflammable as was found in the tour chutes and rooms most re gently driven in the mine. These chutes and rooms ere numbered Al AZ, 43 and A respectively, and they are situated between points that range from 230 feet to 50 feet in distance outby (toward the mine entrance) from the face of the main haulage gangway. which face was in course of being driven ahead At a point $50 feet outby the face of the gangway is pronounced fault, that was penetrated n driv- siny the gangway during August 1o37, and by which fault the coal lOllOWCQ DJ SAiC 5diio way was offset about fifty feet
 No inflammable gas was found ir any other portion of the accessible mine workings.
 < .2-~The explosion originated in the gangway between Chute No. 41 and the gangway face.
 3-One of the miners coats that was found in the part of the gang !way lying between Chute No. Al and gangway face was partly burned and much blackened by soot and fine cinder. This coat has been identi- fled as belonging to one of the miners who was working in this area. at the time of the explosion in a pocket of this coat there was found box of snuff, cigarette package containing four unsmoked ioigarettes, and a match box con ,taining six matches.
 4-From the point of origin de- signated ill paragraph No. 3 above, the explosive blast proceeded outby toward the oatside) along the gangway. increasing in violence as f. progressed. As the bottom or mouth sef each of the chutes that open sonto the gangway and that give ES.cesS to the rooms above was pass led branching tongue of the blast Twas forced upward through it, tear ing away all doors and curtains That had been placed across the sthute-openi1lgS and room t .>s to control the ventilation of the. mine. The destructive violence ef the flaming, hurricane-like blast attained it's greatest intensity when it reached the vicinity of Chutes No. 36 and No. 35, which are sit- uated between 600 and 700 feet out Ly from the face of the gangway. At Chute No. 36 the train of eleven mine cars had just been loaded. Considerable coal dust arising from the loading operation was suspend eu ln the alr Tn this vicinity and a pc sion of it was being carried in- ward along the gangway by the current of ventilating air. This dust-cloud added greatly to the vio- fence of the explosion in the vicinity Of Chute No. 36, from which the motor and loaded train had pro- ceeded but short distance on it's way to the outside tipple.
 All damage to the haulage motor was found to have been caused when it was struck by the explosive blast and by accompanying violence.
 It was found that there was no levidence of destructive violence in the gangway outby the locality when the damaged motor and coal train were found after the explosion. ' 5-From observed conditions as stated above and other confirma- tory evidence the conclusion has been reached that the explosion was caused by the accumulation of a body of inflammable gas and it's ignition by match used in lighting a cigarette.