Sago Mine Disaster

Thirteen men sat in the best barricade they could build, enduring...hoping. They had used their single hour of oxygen from the only Self Contained Self Rescuer issued to them by the company. Their families waited outside living through one of the most difficult times of their lives, praying to see their loved ones once again.

As time wore on, we would learn the ultimate fate of those men, those husbands, those fathers, those grandfathers, brothers, uncles, nephews. One was alive, barely holding on…the others had perished in the thick poisoned air of the mine.

The miners of Sago were like so many of us. They took one of the few jobs available to them, jobs that would allow them to live in the places they had long called home, jobs that would pay enough to support their families.

If only the company had given them more than one SCSR—if only there had been a law—but we know how much power money holds over the hearts of men.

It would be the suffering and tragic loss of life of those 12 brave souls—the pain of constant loss felt by their families—that would finally see to it that every coal miner in the United States would never face the same crisis. Millions of Americans became outraged at the events that played out on their televisions, and the ensuing public outcry would accomplish a feat that has seldom been accomplished in the history of US coal mining—the power of coal industry lobbyists was outweighed by the voice of the public in the halls of government. Laws were passed and now additional SCSRs must be purchased by coal companies, underground safe havens must be built and supply miners with three day of oxygen, food, and water.

Each time my crew passed a safe haven and SCSR stash on our way to the section, I would think of those men, I would think of their final hours. I would pay my respects to them in my own way and wish that the corruption of the coalfields had not taken their lives. I hope that other miners do the same and remember the day the miners of Sago perished and the hearts of their families were forever broken.

May you all rest in peace. God Bless.