Sunshine Mine
Kellogg, Shoshone County, Idaho
May 2, 1972 -91 killed
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There is a vague possibility that the hot bolts or some smoldering material such as wooden wedges, headboards, or rags may have been collected and dis- posed of behind timbers close to the 09 drift intersection, to flare up after the three workers left the area. Smoking of Cigarettes It was found that two men that worked on the 3400 the morning of the fire smoked cigarettes but it is doubtful that anyone could smoke cigarettes in the area of where it is believed the fire started. According to company personnel there was no way of gaining entry to 09 drift on 3400, and due to the high velocity of air, 1600 feet per minute in the outby, it is doubtful anyone could smoke cigarettes in this extremely fast air current (not impossible but doubtful). Electricity Subsequent investigations have indicated there were no energized electrical wiring or installations in the burn area.
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Spontaneous Combustion Because of the large amount of timbers that had been previously used in the area where the fire is believed to have started, plus the reported accumulation of other combustible materials, the possibility of fire ignition by means of spontaneous combustion was given a lot of credulity even though no one in the Coeur d' Alene Mining District can remember an instance where a fire was initiated due to spontaneous combustion from old mine timbers. The 09 drift on 3400 had been bulkheaded off in the early 60s to prevent ventilation leakage and to restrict entry of persons into the worked out areas. It is not known for certain every material used in the construction of these bulkheads. It was reported that the timber sets in this intersection was laced with shiplap and/or plywood boards chinked along the walls with burlap. The boards were covered with tar paper and then sprayed with urethane foam. The entire intersection, for an estimated 50 feet, was slick walled with plywood, tar paper and urethane foam, and canopied overhead in the same manner.
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It is not known what all materials were previously disposed of in the abandoned worked out area of the mine, but it is likely that several materials classified as combustible would have been found in the old workings, i.e., old broken timbers, rags, burlap, paper wrappings from lunches, explosive containers and probably explosives. Any or all of these materials could have contributed to spontaneous combustion if the right conditions existed. Arson maybe, but there has been no substantial evidence provided that leads us to believe the fire was deliberately started
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