1972 – July 22, Blacksville #1 coal mine, fire/asphyxiation, ~Blacksville, Monongalia Co., WV-9

–9 CDC NIOSH. “Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present.” (website)
–9 Morgantown Post, WV. “Blacksville No. 1 sealed at 5:30 today.” 7-25-1972, p. 1.
–9 UPI. “Hopes Dim for Nine Miners.” Daily Intelligencer, Doylestown, WV. 7-24-1972, p. 1.
–9 WV Public Broadcasting (WVPB). “This Week in West Virginia History.”

Narrative Information

CDC NIOSH: “7/22/1972…Blacksville No. 1…Blacksville WV…9 [killed]…Coal [product]…Fire…UG [mine type—underground].”

WVPB: “On July 22, 1972, a fire broke out at the Blacksville Number 1 mine in Monongalia County. It was sparked by a continuous mining machine that came into contact with an electric wire. The volatile Pittsburgh coal seam at Blacksville ignited quickly. At the time, 43 men were underground; 34 escaped, but nine men who were working deep in the mine died after inhaling smoke and fumes. Days later, the mine was sealed at the surface to protect rescue workers from potential explosions.

“Blacksville Number 1 was eventually reopened, and coal mining resumed. However, by 1992, Number 1 had reached the end of its useful life and was being sealed up to reduce air intake into the shaft. On March 19 of that year, while drainage pipes were being welded together and placed into the production shaft, a spark fell and ignited methane gas in the shaft. The resulting explosion killed four miners and seriously injured two others. A judge later found that the Consolidation Coal Company, which owned Blacksville Number 1, had failed to follow proper safety precautions when sealing the mine.”
Newspaper

July 24, UPI: “Blacksville, W. Va. (UPI) – Rescue workers battled a raging, smoky mine fire today in an effort to reach nine men trapped more than a mile underground since Saturday night…John Corcoran, president of Consolidation Coal Co., said, ‘Hopes are quite dim at this point.’….W. R. Park, an inspector for the U.S. Bureau of Mines, also told newsmen… ‘Rescue teams are searching every possible place.’…The fire has been localized three quarters of a mile down a haulageway by foam but we’re having trouble encircling it.’

“Thirty-one miners escaped ahead of the smoke and flames. The trapped men contacted the outside by telephone shortly after the fire erupted but the contact was broken after a brief conversation. Company officials said the men, who were doing maintenance work at the time of the fire, were wearing self-contained oxygen equipment which would enable them to breath up to fire hours in the smoke-filled passageways. Park said rescue teams were drilling a hole through the top of the mine to an area where four of the men were believed trapped. The hole was five inches in diameter and it would enable officials to check air quality and to listen for signs of life. The trapped men were believed to be in two locations – four in one area and five in another. Federal and state mine inspectors said they apparently were trapped 1¼ miles from the entrance.

“The mine shaft is located in West Virginia but the coal seams extend north under Pennsylvania. The mine is located about 20 miles north of Farmington, W Va., where 78 men were killed in a 1968 mine fire. Consolidation Coal owns both mines.

“The nine men were identified as Justin A Beach Jr., 23; Conrad J. Belt, 34; Billy Murray, 37; Roy L. Sisler, 34; Roy E. Dalton, 42; Kenneth Haines, 21, and Robert H. Tressler, 32, all of Morgantown, W.Va., and Frederick Phillips, 42, and Terrence Stoneking, 29, both of Mount Morris, Pa.

“….Arnold Miller, reform candidate for president of the United Mine Workers union, and E. J. Pnakovich, vice president of the UMW, criticized federal and state mine officials, claiming the fire was caused by safety violations. Miller said the men were taking a continuous mining machine to another section of the mine when it accidentally touched an overhead electrical cable, setting off the fire. He said the nine missing men were behind the machine, a violation of West Virginia mining laws.” (UPI. “Hopes Dim for Nine Miners.” Daily Intelligencer, Doylestown, WV. 7-24-1972, p. 1.)

July 25: “The Blacksville No. 1 mine of Consolidation Coal Co. became a tomb for nine miners today at 5:30 a.m. Following tests which indicated no signs of life in the shaft where the men may have taken refuge from the Saturday fire, the mine was sealed with concrete and steel…Hazelett Cochran, Consol’s vice president for public relations said in a press briefing today….a microphone was lowered into a 738-foot borehole about a mile from where the fire began… ‘There was no response. The atmosphere was tested (through the borehole) and found to be lethal,’ he added.

“Sealing off the mine is done in an attempt to cut off oxygen from the fire, thereby stopping the flames, Cochran explained. It is not a procedure which is normally carried out when there is still hope that trapped miners may be alive. The decision to seal the mine was reached at 2:42 p.m. yesterday when three small methane explosions drove rescue teams from the mine. No one was hurt in the evacuation. Prior to the sealing, representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the state Department of Mines, Consol and the United Mine Workers agreed to the procedure….” (Morgantown Post, WV. “Blacksville No. 1 sealed at 5:30 today.” 7-25-1972, p. 1.)

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. “Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present.” (website). Accessed 1-23-2022 at: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table

Morgantown Post, WV. “Blacksville No. 1 sealed at 5:30 today.” 7-25-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-23-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morgantown-post-jul-25-1972-p-11/

UPI. “Hopes Dim for Nine Miners.” Daily Intelligencer, Doylestown, WV. 7-24-1972, p. 1. Accessed 1-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/doylestown-daily-intelligencer-jul-24-1972-p-21/

WV Public Broadcasting (WVPB). “This Week in West Virginia History.” Accessed 1-22-2022 at: https://www.wvpublic.org/radio/2019-07-22/july-22-1972-fire-in-blacksville-number-one-kills-nine-miners