mined
Looking Back to Move Forward
UTA to create documentary on Utah mining disaster, develop training safety materials
New documentary recounts tragic 1984 coal-mining disaster.
In 1984, a coal fire broke out at the Wilberg Mine in Emery County, Utah. Within minutes, smoke and lethal gases traveled 2,400 feet down to where a 28-member crew was working. All but one was trapped and killed. According to a report by the U.S. Mine Rescue Association, it took a year before all of their bodies could be recovered.
To help prevent similar disasters in the future, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health awarded UTA a $1.3 million grant to create an oral history documentary about the 1984 event and develop accompanying multimedia components and training for first-line supervisors.
The UT Arlington Division for Enterprise Development is collaborating on the project with the Department of Art and Art History and Safety Solutions International, an occupational health and safety training company.
“That fire had a huge impact on the community and others around it,” says film Senior Lecturer Mark Clive, who is leading production of the documentary. “Our film will be compelling while also providing the nation with a training video from the lessons learned at Wilberg. Viewers will see sophisticated animation, graphic design, and scenic recreation to rival documentaries of this nature that they might have watched on PBS or the History Channel.”
Photograph by Associated Press (WILBERG Mine)