Coal Creek Mine #3 Explosion Memorial - Fernie, British Columbia
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Bon Echo
N 49° 30.242 W 115° 03.750
11U E 640273 N 5485293
Memorial to the 34 men in a coal mine explosion at Coal Creek, 1917
Waymark Code: WMYV5D
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/26/2018
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Fernie and many of surrounding towns (current and former) largely exist because of the rich coal deposits found in the region. But the coal, which brought prosperity, also brought much grief in the form of work-place deaths. Explosions within the mines were the leading cause of casualties. One such incident took place at the Coal Creek mines on April 5, 1917. That incident claimed the lives of 34 workers. Thankfully that would be the last large-scale accident at Coal Creek.
The plaque is located in from of the Fernie City Hall, among the "Miners Walk", Installed in 2017, it marks the 100-year anniversary of the tragedy. The plaque reads:
Coal Creek Mine Disaster 1917
On April 5, 1917, an explosion in the No. 3 mine took the lives of 34 men. The mines at Coal Creek generated far more gas than did even the most dangerous of mines elsewhere. Fatalities there were frequent, as were disagreements over safety measures between the miners' union and officials of the Crow's Nest Pass Coal Company. The local union demanded a safer system of shift change, which was won following a bitter but successful strike in 1918. At Coal Creek, there was never again loss of life comparable to that claimed by the disaster of 1917.