Cripple Creek Fire Chief recounts Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine rescue efforts
TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Joe O'Conor is the Fire Chief of the Cripple Creek Fire Department (CCFD). On Monday, O'Conor told KRDO13 how two tourists bravely climbed up a ladder to alert workers about what had happened in the harrowing Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine incident.
RELATED: Trapped survivors safely rescued from Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek
On the day of the incident, an equipment malfunction occurred on a mine elevator carrying a tour group.
When the fire chief first arrived at the scene, he said there was a lot of confusion from first responders on what was going on. He said the two people who climbed the ladder provided a lot of meaningful information to rescuers.
12 people were trapped 1,000 feet underground. 12 others were on an elevator when the malfunction occurred. 46-year-old Patrick Weier was a tour guide at the mine and was tragically killed in the incident.
Over a span of about seven hours, rescuers planned and carefully executed an operation that safely brought both groups of people out of the mine.
RELATED: Overwhelming show of community support for Weier son
Flowers now line the gate at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in honor of Patrick Weier.
"It had been discussed that there was an operator or a tour guide that had been, been killed," said Chief O'Conor.
As part of some of the first crews at the mine, O'Conor saw the first elevator come up.
"It became very clear that Patrick Weier was the victim," recounted O'Conor.
RELATED: Teller County Sheriff’s Office identifies man who died in Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine
The 46-year-old tour guide was also one of O’Connor’s students.
"Our fire department, Cripple Creek Fire, knew him very well. He had participated in 2023, in our firefighter academy and was certified as a firefighter and hazardous materials operations. We knew Patrick. We knew his son. We had spent a good bit of time with both of them and it hit our folks hard," O'Conor shared.
Weier leaves behind his seven-year-old son, the one person the chief told KRDO13 he prioritized above all.
"He had all the skills and he was very motivated and he had wanted to be a career firefighter, but taking care of his son took priority, and our schedule was just not conducive," O'Conor stated.
The link to support Weier's son can be found here.
The Teller County Sheriff's Office will also hold the Patrick Walter Weier Memorial Procession on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10:00 a.m. in Cripple Creek.
