Virginia City, Montana November 6, 1903 No. Killed - 9
A fire in this gold mine killed 9 men, among them Superintendent R. B. Turner, of Butte. About 5 o'clock in the morning, fire was discovered in the tunnel house on tunnel No. 1, and the timbers in the tunnel were ablaze. How the fire originated is not known.
At the first alarm the 170 employees hastened to extinguish the flames. Superintendent Turner entered the tunnel through the fire and smoke to warn the entombed miners and to aid them to escape. He returned and tried to enter the mine by the air shaft but fell from the ladder and was killed.
Source:
Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States - Volume I
