1957 — Feb 4, Pocahontas Fuel, Coal Mine No. 34 gas explosion, Bishop, VA/WV border–37

–37 Bureau of Mines. Final Report of Major Mine Explosion Disaster No. 34 Mine Pocahontas…
–37 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
–37 WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present.

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines Report: “Introduction. An explosion occurred in the No. 34 mine of the Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, near Bishop, Tazewell County, Virginia, about 1:55 a.m., 24 of them died from burns and/or forces and 13 were killed by afterdamp. None of the other employees in the mine at the time of the explosion was injured, imprisoned, or made an attempt to erect a barricade; these men, 141, escaped unassisted. The names of the victims, their ages, marital status, occupations and the number of their dependents are listed in Appendix A of this report.

“Bureau of Mines investigators believe that the explosion originated at or near the faces of working places being driven in or off the Day Headings when an explosive mixture of methane-air was ignited by an electric arc or spark from the face electric equipment or a power conductor. Forces of the explosion extended throughout the Day Headings, Shaft Headings, and Little Horse Pen entries, into the Bleeder entries, and to the surface through the man shaft.

General Information

“The No. 34 mine of the Pocahontas fuel Company, Incorporated, is in McDowell County, West Virginia, about a mile south of Bishop, Virginia….” (p.1)

“The last Federal inspection of this mine prior to the disaster was made October 29-31 and November 5-9, 1956….” (p.2)

“Numerous tests by the Bureau of Mines have shown that coal dust having a volatile ration of 0.12 is explosive and that the explosibility increases with an increase in the volatile ratio. The volatile ratio of the coal in this mine as determined from the above-mentioned analysis is 0.23, indicating that the dust from this coal is explosive.

“The mine records indicate that three gas explosions occurred in the Nos. 4 and 5 coal beds of this mine in 1937 and 1951; three persons were killed in the first explosion, and one in each of the others….” (p. 3)

“The mine is classed gassy by the West Virginia Department of Mines and by the Bureau of Mines….” (p.6)

“Summary of Evidence…. 9. Evidence of a large quantity of gas having burned in the face regions of the Day Headings proves unquestionably that gas had accumulated in these working places. This gas accumulation could have occurred only as a result of short-circuiting the air current from these places. The method of ventilating the area and examination after the explosion indicate that the most logical explanation for such short-circuiting is that the air-lock doors at the entrance to the section were open for some time previous to the explosion.” (p. 26)

“Cause of the Explosion. The Federal investigators are of the opinion that the disaster was caused by the ignition of an accumulation of gas in working places being driven in or off the Day Headings. Gas had accumulated in these places as a result of short-circuiting of thee ventilating current, which was due to air-lock doors at the entrance to the working section having been left open. The gas was ignited by an electric arc or spark from 1 of 4 pieces of face electric equipment, from the trailing cables to this equipment, or at the inby ‘nipping’ station ofr part of the equipment. Coal dust in the immediate face areas entered into the explosion and aided in its propagation. When flame and forces of the explosion reached the Shaft Headings, the explosion was further propagated by mine dust (mixed coal and rock dust) that was rendered explosive by the presence of gas that had been liberated in the Nos. 5 and 6 entries of these headings during the ventilation failure.” (p. 28)

[From Appendix A, Victims of Explosion, No. 34 Mine, Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, February 4, 1957, pp. 1-2 we note that:

• 34 women were left widowed
• 152 children were left fatherless

Newspaper

Feb 4, UP: “Bishop, Va. (UP) – An explosion deep in one of the nation’s largest soft coal mines today killed between 35 and 40 miners. Searchers found the bodies of the miners some six hours after the blast at Pocahontas Fuel Company’s Bishop mine on the Virginia-West Virginia border. The company issued a statement saying there were ‘less than 40 men involved’ in the disaster and that ‘of this number there are no survivors.’ The company aid the cause of the explosion was not known but earlier an official indicated that gas was believed to have touched off the blast.

“The blast trapped three crews of about 12 men each some 2,000 feet from the mouth of the mine at 1:55 a.m. (EST), the company said. The crews were digging coal from the face of the No. 3 seam of the Pocahontas mine field in the heart of the soft coal belt. The company statement said the blast occurred 2,200 feet from the bottom of a new air shaft. There were approximately 177 men inside at the time and most of them got out through another opening, the statement said.

“Mine dispatcher Robert P. Meade said exploding gas apparently caused the mine disaster. Bad air and smoke hampered rescue workers as they tried to reach the trapped miners.

“A. V. Sproles, vice president of the Pocahontas firm, and West spector [guessing this was meant to be something like West Virginia mine inspector] Julius Olzer issued a joint statement giving details of the explosion. They said the section where the blast occurred was examined by a fire boss just before the workmen entered the mine at midnight, to work on the 12 to 8 a.m. shift.” (United Press. “35 to 40 Miners Are Killed In Explosion in Bishop, Virginia..” Weirton Daily Times, WV. 2-4-1957, pp. 1-2.)

Sources

Bureau of Mines, District C., US Department of the Interior. Final Report of Major Mine Explosion Disaster No. 34 Mine Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, McDowell Cunty, West Virginia (near Bishop, Tazewell County, Virginia), February 4, 1957. Accessed 3-3-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/bishop_1957.pdf

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013

United Press. “35 to 40 Miners Are Killed In Explosion in Bishop, Virginia..” Weirton Daily Times, WV. 2-4-1957, p. 1. Accessed 3-3-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/weirton-daily-times-feb-04-1957-p-1/

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, October 9, 2008 update. At: http://www.wvminesafety.org/disaster.htm