Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring in Illinois Underground Mine Fire Fraud
Article 0 Comments A Kentucky man entered a guilty plea to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in relation to an underground fire that occurred in the MC#1 Mine in Franklin County, Illinois, in August 2021. According to court documents, on Aug. 12, 2021, Timothy Parsons, 38, Louisa, Kentucky, was the Mine Manager at the MC#1 Mine when an underground fire was ignited by a cutting torch used to cut collapsed steel beams. When the fire could not be extinguished within 10 minutes, rather than implementing the approved Mine Emergency Evacuation and Firefighting Plan, Parsons and conspirators agreed that they would not evacuate miners or notify MSHA. Gas detectors carried by miners alarmed for the presence of more than 10 parts per million of carbon monoxide, yet the mine continued to mine coal during ad hoc firefighting efforts over the course of three shifts from Aug. 12 to 13. On Aug. 13, Parsons tried to conceal the existence of the fire from those not already aware of it by evacuating the mine on the false pretense that a belt used to carry coal from underground to the surface was broken. Later that morning, MSHA received...