Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy Of The Centralia Mine Fire

What a fantastic book. At times this book reads like a comedy, you can’t believe the government, the “experts “, those in authority could be so stupid, or ignorant, or worse, so callous about the health and well-being of citizens of this country.
This is an amazing book and proves once again that the road to hell, is paved with good intentions, and that you should never blindly trust anyone, especially the government.

Back in 1999 a friend of mine was playing a rather dark yet compelling video game called “Silent Hill”. I recall it being creepy, eerie, and surprisingly engaging. The genre of the game is called “Survival Horror” (how telling that this is actually a genre on its own, but that’s a whole other conversation). Not being very adept at video games, I only watched him play it and that was that.

Or so I thought.

Years later, in 2006, I found myself watching a movie, also called “Silent Hill”. Again, creepy, scary, and once more rather engaging. The DVD had an added feature on “The Making of Silent Hill” or some such title and I ended up watching that piece with even more interest.

Briefly mentioned was that the story (and the show more original video game) had been inspired in part by a real tragedy that occurred in a Pennsylvania mining town in 1962. It was this back-story that led me to read this book.

“Fire Underground” is the story of how a 1960s mining disaster made a ghost town of Centralia, Pennsylvania.

The book relates the events that led up to the first underground fire in the anthracite coal mine that was the financial heart and soul of the region. It speaks of the actual fire starting, the attempts to contain the problem, the politicians and business people running for cover, the pointing of fingers, the botched attempts at containment, the parade of scientific personnel, ingenious laymen, professionals and everyone else – all of whom failed to stop the fire (which is STILL BURNING TODAY and may burn for decades still to come).

But then the story really gets going. The denial of the government, the bizarre placement of poison detection systems in people’s homes, the refusal to compensate homeowners when they were forced to leave town, the pitting of neighbor against neighbor, family member against family member, in this horrific story of the slow death of a town.

The author, David DeKok, possesses the rare ability to take non-fiction reportage and make it every bit a page-turner as a best-selling thriller.

Once again, truth is much stranger than fiction, and in this case much better written. show less

I should start this review by saying that this is among the most well-researched books I have ever read. This book is clearly the result of years of hard labor on the author's part. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate into a gripping read.

I am a huge fan of historical non-fiction, and while the topic of this book is interesting, it is not a book for someone who prefers his or her non-fiction to read like a thriller. I think this book is a required read for residents of Centralia and the surrounding areas, people with a technical interest in mining, and anyone who works for a government agency. It is probably one of the most horrifying (but unfortunately true) tales of government buck-passing, pissing matches, red tape, and disregard show more for working class people I've ever read.

All that being said, the book is not a fast-paced read. It moves slowly, gets bogged down in technical detail about the mine fire and the various attempts to contain it, and becomes a confused mass of government employees, politicians, and Centralia citizens. I would not recommend this book for the casual historical non-fiction enthusiast, but it does have great value for people looking to read about the devastating effects of government inaction. show less