FARMINGTON MINE EXPLOSION UPDATE NOV 2026

We have not updated this blog since 2023 or so, but research and investigation have continued during the last three years and especially recently. I have continued to request information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but this is difficult as we do not always know what there even is out there to request. We have continued to pore over the interviews, books, articles, and stories in hopes of discovering something that would point us in a more definite direction as to where the explosion started and why it happened. 

We feel confident that the explosion initiated down the Main West heading. Careful study of the available information seems to eliminate the explored areas. Ventilation studies done during recovery operations clearly found that the mine never was and could never have been adequately ventilated. That night the barometric pressure was low and the air temperature was cold. Under such conditions more methane is liberated from the coal beds. We know that the Mod's Run fan blew up during the night, and that the alarm system that would have alerted the miners to this critical ventilation failure had been bypassed or "jumpered out" at some point PRIOR TO the explosion. There was inadequate rock dusting throughout the mine and there were many shortcomings in the ventilation controls in the mine. Really, the mine was a time bomb, especially that night because of the low barometric pressure, and when you factor in the failed fan you have an incredibly dangerous situation. All that was needed was a spark. The ventilation failures in that mine were the real problem. 

Because we believe strongly that the ignition source lies in the unrecovered areas we feel that we will never know just exactly what caused the ignition. One official (Paul J. Componation) claimed to have ironclad knowledge that smoking was the cause, and he also claimed that he was not allowed to publish that finding in the official MSHA report. Did he find evidence of smoking in the mine? That would be a huge safety violation. What did he see or find? What did his report, written with another inspector and then rejected, have to say? This may be the only solid lead on an ignition source. Unfortunately Mr. Componation has passed away, and our ability to see what he knew may be gone. No matter the ignition source, our researched and studied position is that smoking or not, the mine was primed to blow that night, as it had been on MANY nights. 

Once our newest FOIA information requests arrive (submitted October 2026) we will analyze them and report. Currently we have a large volume of reports, interviews, articles, and testimonies regarding the disaster. We feel confident that barring Mr. Componation's findings, we will not be able to discern a person or device that was the ignition source. The Main West heading was clearly almost impossible to ventilate properly, and we feel strongly that the ignition occurred down that heading. Most of the people killed in the mine died as a direct result of the initial explosion. Some miners lived a bit longer, finding time to get to emergency equipment and deploy it, and in some cases tried to find a way out. Likely within half an hour or less they were all gone. The conditions of the air and the force of the explosions were just simply not survivable. 55 to 65 pounds per square inch atmospheric pressures are almost universally fatal, and in any kind of explosions this pressure is often the primary cause of death. The damage done to Llewellyn makes it clear that the pressure generated by the explosions was enormous. Frankly, Farmington No. 9 west of  Plum Run overcast was not survivable once it ignited. It is a miracle that the 7 South crew got out, except of course for Paul Henderson. 

Once we digest the latest round of information requests we will post another update. For now, our understanding of the disaster remains the same. Low barometric pressure made for enormous methane release inside the mine, and inadequate ventilation and poor rock dusting aided in the explosive atmosphere, and the Mods Run fan being down killed the ventilation west of Plum Run, and that is it. All that was needed was a spark. Farmington was a ticking time bomb. Emilio Megna and others had told others about the danger, and about their fear that the mine would explode. We should not blame the source of ignition so much as blame the DANGEROUS CONDITIONS that were present. The bypassing of the Mahan fan is a huge factor in this, but we may never know just who did it and if anyone in management knew about it or ordered it. The safe condition of a work place is the responsibility of those in charge. We will continue to dig and research and ask questions. 

The only solid claim about the ignition source, analyzed

The biggest thing that everyone interested in the Farmington (Consol No. 9) Mine disaster wanted (wants?) to know is why. What exactly was the cause of the explosion?  Really though the important question is what ignited the blast. As we know, conditions were right for an explosion, but what started it in the first place? More exactly, not just what, but who and where. While we (the authors of this blog) have some fairly strong opinions about this, there is only one person who has ever made a claim that he knew beyond a doubt what the ignition source was. That man was Paul J. Componation, a mining expert involved in the investigation, and his assertion was that the cause was smoking. 

I will attach screen shots and quotes about this, but his statements can be seen on website comments for the book Farmington No. 9 by Bonnie Stewart. They are out in the open so we feel it is appropriate and right to consider them. Mr. Componation also indicates that he is suspect of the intentions of the author, yet after having read the book thoroughly and having the complete, unredacted report on hand, combined with having seen every available video and read every other available account, we feel the book is honest. The research done was seemingly sound, the information in the book matches other known facts, and frankly since no smoking gun is shown by the book, it wasn't done to be sensationalistic or to exploit the families of the victims. But we digress. He says smoking caused the initial explosion, and that the book is at the least wrong, and at worst deliberately misleading. His ignition claim is the only one ever made, so let us consider it. 

Consider this: in order for someone smoking to have set the initial explosion off, there would have to be sufficient methane where the smoker was to cause an initial methane explosion, and also the person smoking would presumably either not know or not care that methane was at a dangerous level where he was. We know for a fact that the No. 2 fan went down, and was down for hours. The alarm system that should have alerted people and cut power had been deliberately bypassed, so the mine continued to operate with insufficient ventilation. It is a fact that the mine was already inadequately ventilated with all fans up and running, but combined with the low barometric pressure that night, methane levels had to be high. There can be no doubt that there was sufficient methane and sufficient float coal dust to propagate and sustain a huge explosion. That's what happened after all! But we already know these facts. We are talking here specifically about the source of ignition. 

How could Mr. Componation know beyond a doubt that smoking was the ignition source? Our personal, thorough, yet unprofessional analysis concludes that the explosion most likely started way off in the west end of the mine, an area unexplored by teams before the mine was sealed off for the final time. If smoking started the explosion down there, nobody could possibly know that. He had to have some sort of evidence found in an area of the mine that was explored, for it to be certain, unless his evidence was through testimony that someone on a crew was a regular smoker in the mine and he is just coming to that conclusion because it seems likely. It must be said that Componation was an experienced, capable mining expert with theoretically no axe to grind, yet states that he was not allowed to write a report where smoking was the cause. Again, this implies that he had solid evidence.... unless the fact that he wasn't allowed to write that report means that the evidence was deemed unsound by his superiors. I mean, someone can be pretty sure of something that they cannot prove to be true, right? Without proof, though, it cannot be known to be true. Just being pretty sure is not good enough. 

The miners at No. 9 may have occasionally played things fast and loose, but we know they didn't "mudcap" the buried mining machine up north, something Danny Kuhn thought might have been the ignition source. (This does imply it had been done before though.)  But that wasn't it, and explosion evidence seems to indicate it did not originate anywhere down south. Where could his proof have been found? 

What if the initial explosion actually happened at the bottom of the Llewelyn shaft? This is something that we have considered at length. That area was completely devastated, and force/direction data there is not clear. Had it begun there, would evidence of smoking have survived what that area was subjected to throughout the entire event? We do not believe it could have. Meaning, even if smoking did provide the ignition at that location, Mr. Componation could not have found such evidence there. So what did he see, and where did he see it? Beyond physical evidence of smoking, of which there are no mentions made in the official report NOR are there any mentions made of smoking anywhere in any other accounts besides his, what evidence could he have that made him feel sure that smoking was the guaranteed source of ignition? We have no idea, but are trying to find out. It appears that he has passed away, so unfortunately we cannot get the details from him personally, which is most unfortunate. We have no doubt he could have materially added to our understanding of the No. 9 disaster. 

Would a determination in line with his original report, which he said he was not allowed to submit, have changed any of the legal proceedings which followed? Hard to say. Mine officials didn't make anyone light up, unless it was a mine official that lit one up and blew it up himself! Now, if a boss had ordered a crew to mudcap that continuous miner out, that would be a different matter, but we would probably never know that! 

If Mr. Componation did have some kind of definite proof of smoking being the ignition source we may never know. We are making attempts to locate family members to ask, but we will not pry. Keep in mind though, his assertion is significant because it remains the only one claiming to know the ignition source for a fact. That alone is worth pursuing. Again though, no methane, no explosion. The presence of the methane was the real danger, and THAT is something that the company had to know about. 

What do we then make ultimately of his statement that smoking was the source of ignition? We do not see how that could be knowable. We know for a fact that regardless of where the ignition source was, nobody survived from that area. We believe that none of the explored areas showed any clear sign of the primary ignition. We know that ventilation would have been the worst in the west heading, sections 9 and 10. We know that the recovery teams left water sealing the west end, knowing it was holding back methane. Any number of ignition sources could have been present way off down there, yes including smoking but also many, many other possibilities. We find at present no way to agree or even suspect that smoking was the ignition source, as zero evidence is available to support that conclusion besides Mr. Componation's assertions. 

(The cause of the explosion was excessive methane levels due to poor ventilation, period. The explosion was greatly enhanced by the coal dust throughout the mine. The lack of adequate rock dusting played heavily into the "quality" of the explosive mixture of coal dust and methane and air. The presence of the methane was due to inadequate ventilation. The cause of the poor ventilation is due to a fan being down, bleeders being blocked by roof falls, enormous unventilated gob areas, insufficient stoppings throughout the mine, and a ventilation plan that could never, ever have worked even in ideal conditions. During high barometric pressure the methane in No. 9 was probably more manageable. During low barometric pressure, it was not manageable. To our way of thinking, the ignition source is less critical than the completely inadequate handling of the methane.) 

About this blog.

Some time back, my brother David Davis and I were researching explosions on board Navy ships - magazine explosions, that include the spread of burning propellant - and in that research Dave came upon the phenomenon of coal mine explosions.  From there, we learned about Farmington; we became quickly very interested when we learned a few rather surprising facts about the 1968 explosion, fire, and subsequent ten-year mine recovery effort.

-No official cause of the first explosion was ever officially determined, and the exact location of the first explosion in the mine on that day was also not determined.

-No one attempted to enter the mine to look for survivors until days after the initial explosion.

-The only copy of the official MSHA report on the Farmington / Consol No. 9 mine explosion and fire which could be found online was incomplete; it was missing vital illustrations and diagrams.  This led to a FOIA request by Dave, which produced a great deal of material. 

-Although the mining company paid settlements to survivors after the accident, lawsuits continued for years until it was determined that the statute of limitations had run out on all claims made.  This essentially buried fairly solid information that safety equipment at the mine had been bypassed.

After spending several years looking into the events of November 1968 at Farmington and the various things that followed, we feel as if we've got enough information and analysis that is either new (and original) or else is not available to the public that we should collect and record this information.  That is the purpose of this blog.

Link lists appear at the right of the blog; these contain important videos or documents about the No. 9 mine accident and recovery, or information important to understanding what occurred there.  Posts on this blog will not be chronological but when put together, eventually will, we hope, tell a great deal more of the story than has been available so far. 

-Will Davis 4/18/2023