CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

A Louisa man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up an underground coal mine fire in Illinois and defrauding federal mine safety regulators.

Timothy Brandon Parsons, 38, entered his plea Aug. 29 in federal court to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

The charge stems from a fire at the MC#1 Mine in Franklin County, Illinois, on Aug. 12, 2021, when Parsons was the mine manager.

According to court documents, a cutting torch used to cut collapsed steel beams ignited the fire.

“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,” a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice states.

“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.”

According to the press release, the next morning, Aug. 13, Parsons tried to conceal the fire by evacuating miners under the false claim that a coal conveyor belt had broken. Later that day, MSHA inspectors confirmed the fire after receiving an anonymous tip and ordered the mine evacuated.

“Despite the evacuation order, over the next several days, conspirators reentered the mine on two occasions without MSHA’s permission to assess the fire and manipulate the conditions underground so that MSHA would allow mining to resume. Members of the conspiracy did not wear tracking devices designed to track the underground location of miners and made false entries in mine records,” the Justice Department said.

The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the case.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 18. Parsons faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.