1972 — Dec 15, Coke Oven Gas Explosion, Koppers Steel, Browns Island, Weirton, WV–19

–21 National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.
–21 NY Times. “Explosion Kills 21 in Coke Plant Test off Weirton, W.Va.” 12-16-1972, p. 62.
–19 National Fire Protection Assoc. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983, p. 139.
–19 Gazette Mail, Charleston, WV. “19 Victims of Weirton Blast Listed.” 12-17-1972, p. 24.
–19 Kiaski, Janice. “In search of island history.” The Weirton Daily Times. 1-18-2019.
–19 Lowell Sun. “Leaking Natural Gas Blamed for Explosion…Killed 19,” 12-19-1972, A17.
–19 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
–19 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1972,” Fire Journal, Vol. 67, No. 3, May 1973, p. 102.
–19 The Derrick (Oil City, PA). “Coke Plant Blast Blamed on Gas Leak,” December 26, 1972.
–19 Weirton Daily Times, WV. “19 Killed…Blast at New Browns Island Plant.” 12-16-1972, 1.
–10 Khan & Abbasi. “Major Accidents in Process Industries…,” LPPI Journal, Vol. 12, 1999.

Blanchard note on fatalities: Though there were at the time, and since then, as in the NFPA Fire Almanac of 1983, reports of 21 deaths, and even one (Khan & Abbasi) of ten deaths, it is clear from a reading of a broad range of sources at the time and since, that there were 19 fatalities.

Narrative Information

National Fire Protection Association: “Of the eleven multiple-death industrial fires in 1972, the worst occurred on December 15 in Weirton, West Virginia. Nineteen people died at a steel plant in a gas explosion in a new coke oven.

“The new facility was nearly finished when the in¬cident occurred. The facility included a battery of 79 coke ovens of masonry construction with a basic over¬all size of 100 by 300 feet. The ovens — which were heated with coke gas from the nearby main plant — were about to be preheated when workers in the area smelled gas. On investigating they found two workmen unconscious. A safety man was notified and he tele¬phoned for medical assistance. Shortly after he had completed his call an explosion occurred. The explosion killed 18 men in the coke ovens and the safety man in his office about 600 feet away.

“The Weirton Fire Department received a call from the plant over its direct phone line about 9:40 am. The first unit found flames roaring over 100 feet high from a coke gas leak outside the ovens. Several employees were trapped in the area of the explosion.

“Assisted by mutual-aid units, Weirton fire fighters undertook the outside rescue and fire-fighting. Their first efforts were aimed at controlling the supply of gas to the oven. A 36-inch supply line had to be closed off and purged — an operation that took about 30 min¬utes, as a fitting had to be welded to connect the steam and gas lines. The steam was used to purge the coke gas after the gas supply was shut off. After this had been done, the rescuers entered the oven structure. As they entered the explosion area a second explosion oc¬curred. Apparently gas was pocketed below grade. All personnel were cleared from the area while a special rescue team was set up with self-contained breathing apparatus, explosimeters, explosion-proof lights, and safety lines. They re-entered the area to find one em¬ployee still alive, besides several bodies. Since the ex¬plosimeter readings were 80 per cent of the lower explo¬sive limit, gaseous nitrogen was brought in to purge the area. The readings had dropped to 10 per cent of the lower explosive limit by the time rescue and fire¬fighting operations were completed, about 7:30 pm. (Fire-fighting efforts consisted mostly of extinguishing fires in exposed ordinary combustibles.)

“A joint investigation made by the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office, the State Police, and the State Labor Department (the OSHA agency for West Virginia) found that coke gas had been ignited by an unknown source. The property loss was listed as $600,000. The gas control area and an adjacent coal storage area were also damaged.” (NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1972,” Fire Journal, Vol. 67, No. 3, May 1973, p. 102-103.)

Newspapers

Dec 17: “A team of Koppers Co. investigators was at the site today trying to determine what caused the explosions which left one area of the plant a mass of twisted metal girders and sheet steel. Most of those killed were trapped under the mass of debris.

“The plant was regarded as the world’s most advanced in terms of production and pollution abatement equipment. A Koppers spokesman called the plant ‘the showcase of the steel industry.’

“The blasts, which occurred about 9:44 a.m. EST Friday, erupted in a ‘battery basement’ where tests were being made before the ovens were fired up to begin making coke. The plant had a battery of 83 coke ovens being tested before the unit went into production at the end of this month. ‘The blasts were so powerful the men never had a chance,’ said Robert D’Ammidalle, owner of a Steubenville ambulance service….

“…about 590 men [were] working on the island…” (Gazette Mail, Charleston, WV. “Weirton Explosion Kills 19,” December 17, 1972.)

Dec 19: “….Roger Beidler, a Koppers spokesman, said workers reported smelling gas fumes just minutes before the initial explosion, which could be felt four miles away. He said one man was reported to have been sickened by the fumes and an ambulance was summoned….A millwright who was working about 200 feet from the blast area, said he could smell gas just before the explosion. He said at least two men were apparently overcome by fumes.” (Lowell Sun, MA. “Leaking Natural Gas Blamed for Explosion that Killed 19,” Dec 19, 1972, A17.)

Dec 26: “Pittsburgh (AP) – Seeping gas definitely was to blame for the Dec. 15 explosion at a new coke plant in Weirton, W. Va., in which 19 men were killed, a company report said. But the source of the gas and the spark that ignited it remain to pinpointed, the report said.

“The findings were issued by Koppers Construction Co. of Pittsburgh, the firm that was building the facility for Weirton Steel, a division of National Steel, on Brown Island in the Ohio River.

“Koppers said the accumulated gas was the kind used to heat the ovens in the coke plant. It said the cause of ignition could have been any number of things, including a lighted cigarette, a welding torch or a metal-to-metal spark.

“Koppers said the preliminary conclusions were reached by a seven-member investigating team composed of its own employees, plus representatives from Weirton Steel and an insurance company. A companion investigation has been launched by the U.S. Department of Labor, the company noted.

“Those killed were employees of Koppers, Weirton Steel and several Koppers subcontractors. The ovens were being heated in anticipation of the coke plant’s scheduled opening next week when the explosion occurred.” (The Derrick, Oil City, PA. “Coke Plant Blast Blamed on Gas Leak,” 12-26- 1972.)
Sources

Gazette Mail, Charleston, WV. “19 Victims of Weirton Blast Listed.” 12-17-1972, p. 24. Accessed 1-18-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gazette-mail-dec-17-1972-p-24/

Gazette Mail, Charleston, WV. “Weirton Steel Blast Probe Opens today.” 12-17-1972, p. 24. Accessed 1-18-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/gazette-mail-dec-17-1972-p-24/

Khan, Faisal I. and S.A. Abbasi. “Major Accidents in Process Industries and an Analysis of Causes and Consequences.” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Vol. 12, 1999, pp. 361-378. At: http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:http://202.38.89.99/Loss_prevention/99503.pdf

Kiaski, Janice. “In search of island history.” The Weirton Daily Times. 1-18-2019. Accessed 1-19-2022 at: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2019/03/in-search-of-island-history/

Lowell Sun, MA. “Leaking Natural Gas Blamed for Explosion that Killed 19,” 12-19-1972, A17. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=55600529

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1

National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1972,” Fire Journal, Vol. 67, No. 3, May 1973, pp. 71-74 & 102.

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

New York Times. “Explosion Kills 21 in Coke Plant Test off Weirton, W.Va.” 12-16-1972, p. 62. Accessed 1-19-2022 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/16/archives/explosion-kills-21-in-coke-plant-test-off-weirton-w-va.html

The Derrick, Oil City, PA. “Coke Plant Blast Blamed on Gas Leak,” December 26, 1972, p. 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=66187664

Weirton Daily Times, WV. “19 Killed, 10 Hurt in Blast at New Browns Island Plant.” 12-16-1972, 1. Accessed 1-18-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/weirton-daily-times-dec-16-1972-p-1/