Date: March 17, 2018
Location: Harrison Co., West Virginia (USA)
Address: Harrison County Mine, Co Rd 38, Mannington, 26582
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Oxidized Coal (Coal)
Industry: Bituminous Coal Mining (Mining)
Equipment: Coal Storage Silo
Company: The Harrison County Coal Company (Murray Energy Corporation)
Previous Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
The Harrison County Mine, locally known as the Robinson Run Mine, is operated by The Harrison County Coal Company, a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corporation.
Headquartered in St. Clairsville, Ohio, Murray Energy was founded in 1988. With the annual output of seventy-six million tons of bituminous coal and employing 6,000+ people in six states, it is the largest privately owned coal company in the United States.
Murray Energy became the owner of Harrison County Mine in 2013 with the purchase of Consolidation Coal Company from CONSOL Energy Inc.
Description of Coal Dust Fire:
On March 17th, 2018, WDTV reported a fire at the Harrison County Mine. The incident started just after 11 am. Five fire companies, namely: Shinnston VFD, Wallace VFD, Lumberport VFD, Worthington VFD and Spelter VFD have all arrived at the scene to help the mine personnel put the fire down. It took them several hours to get control over the situation. At 3.15 pm the firefighting crews were still on the site, according to local news site wboy.
News reports state that the fire started inside of a coal storage silo, where a small pile of oxidized coal ignited. The media images show heavy smoke coming out from the bottom of the silo. Water was inserted into to the container to resolve the incident.
The Harrison County Coal Company described the fire as ‘a minor incident’. No injuries were reported and the scale of damages remains undisclosed. The initial cause of the fire is yet to be established.
