Remembering the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster 14 years later

MONTCOAL, WV (WVNS) — One of the most notable things associated with West Virginia is coal mining, but it is a job that does not come without risks.

There are many mine disasters that are a part of West Virginia history, and in 2010, a mine disaster killed 29 people and injured two at the Upper Big Branch mine in the Montcoal area of Raleigh County.

According to the West Virginia Encyclopedia, the Upper Big Branch mine disaster was the worst coal mining disaster in the Mountain State since the Farmington mine disaster killed 78 people on November 28, 1968.

The Upper Big Branch mine disaster occurred between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on April 5, 2010, when explosions tore through the mine. After an investigation, it was discovered that sparks ignited a pocket of methane, resulting in a fireball that set off methane and coal dust explosions throughout the mine.

The investigation also found that the explosion could have been prevented and that ways to protect miners such as the ventilation, did not work correctly. Massey Energy, the owner of the mine, was blamed in the investigation.

The one thing I can say is we learn lessons in blood, you know, the things that the regulations and things that are put in place now are from lessons learned the hard way. When things like Upper Big Branch happen, they look at all of the things that happen that take place in the order that it did to cause something like that, and then they make changes to make it safer, to make it better.

If an explosion were to happen tomorrow, there’d be a whole new set of regulations and laws, and everything to try to prevent that from happening again. The reason we have the laws, safety rules, policies, and things that we have now is because, more than likely, somebody lost their life at some point in history because of that. So we as an industry take the things that happen like that, and try to make the conditions better and try to prevent things like that from happening.

John Phillips | West Virginia Coal Miner

The president of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, who led the company since 1992, resigned in December 2010. In the fall of 2015, he was tried on criminal charges and found guilty of a misdemeanor count of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, and found not guilty of felony charges. He was sentenced to a year in prison, followed by a year of parole, and a $250,000 fine on April 6, 2016.

In many cases, remembrance ceremonies are held to remember events and the people who lost their lives in instances such as the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. On April 5, 2024, a remembrance ceremony was held at the Raleigh County Courthouse for the 14th anniversary of the event.

Fourteen years ago, West Virginia suffered an unimaginable loss when 29 brave coal miners were killed in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. The anniversary of this tragedy reminds us that our miners are willing to risk their lives for us, and we owe it to them and their loved ones to prioritize their health and safety. My heart goes out to the friends and families of Carl, Christopher, Kenneth, Cory, Michael, Steve, Rick, Joe, Nicolas, Adam, Josh, Dewey, Gary, Grover, Ricky, Jason, Greg, Robert, Timmy, William, Dean, Roosevelt, Ronald, Eddie, Rex, Boone, Jody, Deward and Benny. Gayle and I join all West Virginians in honoring the memory of these 29 courageous miners who lost their lives that day and we will continue to keep them and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV)

However, the events are not the only thing that must be remembered when it comes to mining incidents like Upper Big Branch, the people who lost their lives need to be remembered as well. People who work in coal mines often do so as a way to provide for their families. Despite that, coal mining often appears to have a negative reputation.

The fact of it is, when you look at things like that, for one, coal mining has a bad reputation for being dangerous anyway. A lot of like upper politicians and such are trying to do away with coal. It takes an open mind and a more local view on it to really appreciate it because it’s not so much as the people that die in explosions, roof collapses, and things like that, but you look at the men and what they do for their families, that’s the big picture.

You know, a lot of people think it’s just a job, and on January 4, 2024 a buddy of mine lost his leg, and he’ll never work again. When you put it in perspective, when you go in those kinds of conditions every single day for your family knowing that you might not even come out of it. That’s what people need to look at. The people that unfortunately die in explosions, roof collapses, and things like that, they paid the ultimate sacrifice. But when you think about why they did it or why they were even there, that’s what hits home.

I’m not mocking people that work office jobs or hospitals or anything like that. People choose what career path they want, what they want to do for a living, and that’s great and they support their family however they do it, that’s fine. But when you go into coal mines for your family, and do what we do every single day, so that your kids can have a better life, then you appreciate it more. And when you look at things like Upper Big Branch , or Sago , or Bartley , or any of those mine explosions, those guys gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people they loved.

It being a modern-day event, explosion, or catastrophe, or whatever you want to call it… time’s nothing but a year you know? You can look all throughout history, there’s Upper Big Branch , there’s Sago 4 years before that, there’s Layland , Monongah , Bartley , Pocahontas, Red Jacket down in Virginia. There’s been hundreds of them, and people just remember the explosion, they don’t always see each individual life that was taken.

John Phillips | West Virginia Coal Miner

Coal miners know the risks that are a part of their job, and remembering the people who lost their lives in events like Upper Big Branch is important to making sure that the people are never forgotten. Many areas with mining disasters in their history also have memorials for the people who lost their lives.

I went about a week and a half to two weeks ago up to Babcock State Park, and one thing that I did was stop by the Layland Number 3 Memorial. They have a memorial for that explosion that has the names of each individual miner that was killed, and a plaque for them, and I know the park in Pineville has a plaque with each individual name on it.

Regardless of the event, explosion, roof collapse, or anything like that… you’re not celebrating the event, and it’s not a remembrance thing for the event, it’s to remember the people and their lives.

John Phillips | West Virginia Coal Miner

So, next time you see a coal miner, remember the daily sacrifices and risks they take to keep the lights on across the Mountain State, United States, and the World.

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