1923 — Aug 14, Frontier No. 1 Coal Mine gas and dust explosion, Kemmerer, WY    —     99

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-7-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–99  Bureau of Mines, US Dept. Interior. Report on the Explosion…Frontier No. 1 Mine…

–99  National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. 

–99  NIOSH, CDC. Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). 3-30-2010 update.  

–99  Rea, Tom.  “Thunder under the House: The Hanna Mine Disasters.”

–99  United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Frontier No. 1

 Narrative

 U.S. Bureau of Mines synopsis (produced by the United States Mine Rescue Association):

“The coal bed pitching 15°-20° is opened by a slope 6,000 feet long; staggered cross entries are 400 feet apart.

“The explosion, about 8:20 a.m., covered a large part of the active workings but produced comparatively little violence, although the original gas explosion was propagated by dust.

 

“Of the 135 men underground, 99 were killed.  At least 70 of these men lost their lives by attempting to travel through the smoke and gases and might have been saved if they had remained at the working faces.  One group of men under the leadership of a shot firer and a driver barricaded themselves at the face of No. 29 entry, and 21 or 22 of these men came out about 3:00 p.m. after ventilation was restored.

 

“Several others who tried to escape before the bulkhead was built were found dead near the slope.  Three others remained at their room face on the 28th level and came out at 6:00 a.m.

 

“The other survivors escaped during the rescue operations.  Apparatus was used in exploring the mine, recovering the dead, and to a certain extent assisting the living.

 

“The explosion originated at the face of room 7 of the 30th level, when a fireboss who was restoring a wing brattice that had been disarranged went behind the brattice about 10 feet from the face and attempted to relight his flame safety lamp with a match.

 

“Evidently much more gas had accumulated than he expected.  Electric cap lamps were used, but coal was shot with black powder, off the solid.  Dust was sprinkled but not regularly or thoroughly.”

 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Disasters:

“08/14/1923  Frontier No. 1  Kemmerer  WY  99 [deaths]  Coal  Explosion  UG [underground]”

 

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. Frontier No. 1:

“The following is the list of the victims of the Frontier No. 1 mine explosion:

  1. Alego, Angelo, age 45, married, 4 children, Frontier, Italian
  2. Alego, Joseph, age 41, married, 3 children, Frontier, Italian
  3. Andreatta, Joe, age 31, married, 1 child, Frontier, Italian
  4. Andreatta, Louis, age 29, married, 1 child, Frontier, Italian
  5. Baba, K., age 29, married, Japan, Japanese
  6. Bebber, A., age 42, married, 3 children, Frontier, Italian
  7. Bebber, E., age 39, single, (no place listed), Italian
  8. Berta, George, age 29, married, 1 child, Frontier, Italian
  9. Brall, Tony, age 60, single, (no place listed), Austrian
  10. Cappelli, W. E., age 28, single, (no place listed), Italian
  11. Castagno, John, age 42, single, (no place listed), Italian
  12. Cavecchio, Livio, age 27, single, Italy, Italian
  13. Christensen, Carl, age 29, single, (no place listed), American
  14. Christian, John, age 33, married, 1 child, Kemmerer, Austrian
  15. Citerio, Mike, age 28, married, 3 children, Frontier, Austrian
  16. Coli, John, age 32, widower, 1 child, Italy, Italian
  17. Coli, V., age 38, single, Italy, Italian
  18. Desanti, Enrico, age 41, married, 3 children, Frontier, Italian
  19. Dodorico, Felix, age 26, single, Italy, Italian
  20. Dodorico, Oswaldo, age 22, single, Italy, Italian
  21. Dujinik, Paul, age 40, married, Frontier, Slavic
  22. Erickson, Eino, age 20, single, Frontier, Finnish
  23. Erikson, Matti, age 45, married, Frontier, Finnish
  24. Essman, George, age 35, married, Kemmerer, American
  25. Eynon, Frank, age 50, married, 5 children, Frontier, American
  26. Faustino, Val, age 45, married, 1 child, Frontier, Austrian
  27. Fantino, Marco, age 36, married, 2 children, Frontier, Italian
  28. Forsman, Emil, age 31, married, 1 child, Frontier, Finnish
  29. Fortunato, D., age 26, married, 1 child, Italy, Italian
  30. Georges, John, age 36, married, 3 children, Frontier, Italian
  31. Girardelli, Ettore, age 23, single, Rupert, Idaho, Italian
  32. Grutkoski, John,  age 34, married, 5 children, (no place listed), Austrian
  33. Hagi, C., age 51, single, Japan, Japanese
  34. Hagi, T., age 27, single, (no place listed), Japanese
  35. Hasoda, M., age 32, single, Japan, Japanese
  36. Hill, Mike, age 60, single, (no place listed), Finnish
  37. Hobara, H., age 30, single, (no place listed), Japanese
  38. Itow, K., age 32, married, Japan, Japanese
  39. Jarvie, August Sr., age 50, married, 3 children, Frontier, Finnish
  40. Kanada, T., age 35, married, Salt Lake City, Japanese
  41. Kangas, Henry, age 33, single, Frontier, Finnish
  42. Kare, Eino, age 34, married, 1 child, Frontier, Finnish
  43. Kawahara, K., age 35, single, (no place listed), Japanese
  44. Kawase, S., age 31, married, 1 child, Frontier, Japanese
  45. Kiddy, John, age 39, married, 5 children, Frontier, American
  46. Kirino, K., age 53, married, Frontier, Japanese
  47. Kojima, K., age 22, single, Japan, Japanese
  48. Kozaki, I, age 36, married, 2 children, Frontier, Japanese
  49. Kovach, Joe, age 43, married, 6 children, Frontier, Austrian
  50. Kusnirik, Mike, age 58, married, 2 children, Frontier, Slavic
  51. Loddo, Fred, age 30, single, Italy, Italian
  52. Lopez, Juan, age 30, married, 2 children, Kemmerer, Mexican
  53. Lupcho, George, age 27, married, 1 child, Frontier, Austrian
  54. Lupcho, Andrew, age 53, widower, 3 children, Frontier, Austrian
  55. Lupcho, John,  age 17, single, Frontier, Austrian
  56. Magnino, John, age 34, married, 2 children, Frontier, Italian
  57. Magnino, Mark, age 27, single, Italy, Italian
  58. Martini, Frank, age 24, single, (no place listed), Italian
  59. Martin, John,  age 59, married, Kemmerer, American
  60. Masaki, S., age 33, single, Japan, Japanese
  61. Mendini, Crillo, age 31, single, (no place listed), Italian
  62. Metsala, Hjalmar, age 24, single, Frontier, Finnish
  63. Metsala, Matt, age 37, married, 1 child, Frontier, Finns
  64. Mikami, S., age 35, single, (no place listed), Japanese
  65. Miura, F., age 33, single, Japan, Japanese
  66. Motoh, Joe, age 56, married, 5 children, Kemmerer, Austrian
  67. Menapace, Ottilio, age 26, single, (no place listed), Italian
  68. Navarro, F.T., age 49, married, Rawlins, Mexican
  69. Oyama, S., age 50, married, Japan, Japanese
  70. Palavar, Masu,  age 38, single, (no place listed), Austrian
  71. Palmyra, Pretari, age 37, single, Italy, Italian
  72. Pellegrini, Carl, age 41, married, 3 children, Italy, Italian
  73. Pernice, Marion, age 33, married, 1 child, Frontier, Italian
  74. Pierone, John, age 40, married, 3 children, Italy, Italian
  75. Pinamonti, S., age 50, single, (no place listed), Italian
  76. Rankin, Thomas R., age 35, married, 3 children, Frontier, American
  77. Roberts, Isaac, age 37, single, Frontier, American
  78. Roberts, Louis, age 30, single, Canada
  79. Roberts, Thomas, age 26, married 1 child, Frontier, American
  80. Rodriguez, Joe, age 30, married, 2 children, Mexico, Mexican
  81. Rollo, Joe, age 29, single, Italy, Italian
  82. Sanchez, Tom, age 28, married, Colorado, Mexican
  83. Sager, John Sr., age 59, married, Frontier, Finnish
  84. Sager, John Jr., age 24, single, Frontier, Finnish
  85. Savant, John, age 27, single, Italy, Italian
  86. Smith, Nick, age 55, single, (no place listed), Austrian
  87. Takasugi, G., age 41, single, (no place listed), Japanese
  88. Tinpanio, Louis, age 33, single, Italy, Italian
  89. Toresani, Louis, age 31, single, (no place listed), Italian
  90. Trujillo, Robert, age 37, married, 2 children, Green River, Mexican
  91. Valeriono, Valle, age 23, married, 1 child, Frontier, Italian
  92. Vito, Tony, age 52, married, Italy, Italian
  93. Wainwright, Joe Sr., age 56, married, 3 children, Kemmerer, American
  94. Wainwright, Joe, Jr., age 20, single, (no place listed), American
  95. Walton, J. A. , age 32, married, 3, Frontier, American
  96. Warhol, Paul, age 21, single, Frontier, Austrian
  97. Wormer, George, age 55, married, Kemmerer, American
  98. Zumbrennen, John A., age 24, single, Montpelier, American
  99. Zumbrennen, John, age 39, married, 6 children, Frontier, American

Sources

 

Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior. Report on the Explosion in Frontier No. 1 Mine, Frontier, Wyoming, August 14, 1923. Accessed 4-7-2025 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/8-14-1923_Kemmerer_Coal_Company_Frontier_No_1_Mine.pdf

 

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at:  http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1

 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research.  Mining Disasters (Incidents with 5 or more Fatalities). NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed 4-7-2025 at:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table

 

Rea, Tom. “Thunder under the House: The Hanna Mine Disasters.” Accessed 7-2-2012 at:  http://www.tomrea.net/Thunder%20under%20the%20House.html

 

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States.