The Weirton Daily Times
19 KILLED, 10 HURT IN BLAST AT NEW BROWNS ISLAND PLANT
Explosion Causes Extensive Damage To Coke Battery
December 16, 1972
The worst disaster in Weirton city history, the Friday morning explosions and fire at the Browns Island Coke Plant under construction by Koppers Company for Weirton Steel Division, left 19 dead and 10 injured.
Although unofficial estimates place total damage in the millions of dollars, Weirton Steel Division officials would make no statements regarding the cause or extent of the fire and explosion.
Frank Davis, vice president - public relations at the Pittsburgh headquarters of Koppers Co., issued a list of 16 identified dead men and said company officials were at Weirton General Hospital’s morgue this morning to identify the bodies of the three other dead men, whose bodies were severely mutilated by the explosion and fire.
(A list of the dead and injured appears on Page 1. Obituaries are on Pages 2 & 5.)
Figure Revised The death toll was reduced to 19 from the previously announced 21 when two workers who were believed among those killed were located at their homes. They had not reported for work at the plant site as first believed, Mr. Davis said.
The explosion occurred at 9:44 a. m. Friday, when the tremendous blast ripped from the 87-oven battery basement at the north end of the island. The battery basement is part of an underground system that will prevent air pollution in the coke-making process at the new plant.
Three more blasts, described as non-destructive “gas pocket explosions,” occured within the next half hour and an ensuing fire ripped through a coal bin and storage area within minutes. The initial explosion was described by workers at the site “like World War II” and “like an atomic bomb.”
The fire call was answered by the Weirton Fire Department and Oakland Volunteer Fire Department and all emergency and rescue units of Weirton, Steubenville and Brooke County were placed on alert.
Three men were removed from the scene immediately and pronounced dead on arrival at Weirton General and Ohio Valley Hospitals. Most of the dead, however, were trapped under the mass of debris. The last of the dead were recovered late Friday night by some of the approximate 100 workers who sifted through the far-flung piles of rubble and garbage in search of the victims.
“The blasts were so powerful the men never had a chance,” said Robert D’Anniballe, owner of the Steubenville ambulance Service.
Koppers officials said they were “baffled” regarding cause of the explosion. A team of two dozen company officials were on the scene at daybreak to investigate.
At the time of the explosion, the ovens were being heated prior to being fully charged on Dec. 29. It was reported to Koppers and the three sub-contracting firms on the project were working double shifts to allow for Christmas vacations. Coke oven gas was being piped across the Ohio River from the older coke battery in the Weirton Steel plant and was being used to heat up the ovens. A spokesman said the heating process has been underway since July to help dry out the mortar used in the oven’s construction.
A spokesman said the blast may have been triggered by gas seeping from the walls of the ovens. Before the explosion, somebody smelled gas, it was said.
The area was filled with gas following the explosion and a tanker truck was brought in to spray the area with nitrogen to purge the gas which had hampered the search for victims. Virtually the entire island was sealed off.
Construction of the complex of 87 coke ovens began in August, 1970. The brick-lined ovens convert coal to coke, an essential ingredient in steel production. Officials said 590 men, including employees of Weirton Steel Division, Koppers Co., Yobe Electric Co. of Sharon, Pa., George Hamilton Contracting Co. of Pittsburgh and Arthur Bowers Contracting Co. of Wintersville.
Far fewer employees than normal were in the area of the explosion, a spokesman said, as men were moving in and out of the complex because a coffee break had just been concluded.
“Everywhere there were bricks and garbage and junk and wires. It looked like a bomb had hit. People were all over the place, dead and hurt people and parts of people. It was the most grotesque thing I’ve ever seen,” said Gary E. Schonhall, an ambulance attendant.
Eugene Badis of 186 Culler Rd., in the Ohio Valley Hospital in “good” condition with burns, said, “I started to leave and somebody yelled, ‘Run, the gas is getting worst [sic].’ I ran about 50 feet and then there was an explosion. It sounded to me like an atomic bomb. It must have blown me about 20 feet. I got up and saw blood running off my face.”
In addition to Koppers and Weirton Steel Division teams, at the scene today, special teams of investigators from the West Virginia State Police and the State Fire Marshal’s office were dispatched to the scene by Gov. Arch A. Moore[.] Gov. Moore also asked the State Department of Labor to provide him with a complete report, and federal investigations were also expected.
Here is the list of known dead from yesterday’s explosion and fire at the Brown’s Island coke plant under construction by Koppers Company of Pittsburgh:
Andrew Guz of Pleasant Valley Trailer Court, Weirton, an employe of Weirton Steel Division.
William Kliner of Steubenville, an employe of Koppers.
Sam Mogart of Steubenville, an employe of Weirton Steel Division.
Louis Sommers of Wintersville, an employe of Yobe Electric Co. of Sharon, Pa.
Charles Bowers of Richmond, Ohio, employed by Arthur Bowers Contracting Co. of Wintersville.
Howard Bray of Toronto, employed by Yobe Co.
Edward Arthurs of Toronto, employed by Yobe Co.
Kenneth Gaines of Wellsburg, employed Yobe Co.
James T. Brown of Toronto, employed by Yobe Co.
Paul Byrne of Pittsburgh, employed by George Hamilton Contracting Co.
Mike Repke of Pittsburgh, employed by George Hamilton Co.
Albert Tuttle of Pittsburgh, employed by George Hamilton Co.
James Tuttle of Pittsburgh , employed by George Hamilton Co.
Russell Ober of Pittsburgh, employed by George Hamilton Co.
David VanSickle of Wintersville, employed by Koppers Co.
Arthur McCort (address unknown), employed by Yobe Co. (The Tuttle’s are brothers).
The injured are:
Bernard Eafrati of 303 Avenue J, Weirton, employed at Weirton Steel Division, in guarded condition at Ohio Valley Hospital’s intensive care unit.
Leo Frazier of Chester, employed by Koppers, in fair condition at Ohio Valley Hospital, Steubenville.
Joseph Veraldi, employed by Koppers, good condition at Ohio Valley Hospital.
Eugene Badis of 186 Culler Rd., Weirton, employed by Weirton Steel Division, good condition at Ohio Valley Hospital.
Raymond Davis of Rayland, Ohio, employed by Koppers, good condition at Ohio Valley Hospital.
Charles Bensi, of Rayland, Ohio, in satisfactory condition at Ohio Valley Hospital.
James Ghenne (no address given), employed at Bowers Contracting Co., satisfactory condition at Ohio Valley Hospital.
Deno Galanos, 47, of 113 Sherwood Ave., Weirton, in satisfactory condition at St. John Medical Center.
Two others were treated and released at Weirton General Hospital. They are Kenneth Poorman of Poland, Ohio, and Wilson Bordner of West Point, Ohio.