The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-12-10
Floyd ]. Parsons Gives Opinion AS
To Cause Of The Great Explosion

as to the disaster, are held by those
familiar with the workings. 1t is of
course impossible to definitely and
finally state the exact nature ana orl.
gin OF the explosion, but various facts
lead to the conclusion that trlr :.
cars which broke awar .op of
No. &c slope rushed into the mine
wrecking the trolley-wire- and cau3.
ing sheet Of flame to penetrate AMI
ignite the clouds of dust that the
smash.up necessarily raised.
1t is well to say that at the present
time many observers claim that the
No. mine exploded first; however, I
place absolute faith in the statement
OF an eyewitness who saw the loaded
trip break away and rush back into
the workings. and before he could
reach me mouth OF the pit, a cloud OF
smoke belched forth. No flnme and
little force attended the course OF, the
explosion at the month OF No. 6 nine.
The following reasons seem to corob.
crate the theory that the explosion
was due to the runaway cars: First-it
is hardly possible that an accident Of
this sort would occur and be followed
iastantaaeoasly by such a horrible ex-
piosion without there being some con.
lrccr:on between the two occurrences.
Second-An explosion occurred at the
Rock Springs Mine OF the Union Paclf.
ic Coal Company In Southern Wyom.
ing and was due to the arrangement
uf u trolley wire which caused the ig-
milton of a considerable quantity OF
dust. 1h!s explosion in Wyoming
gives us a precedent to help sustain
the present theory. Third-If the ex.
riosion had occurred in the interior
workings OF No. G or in No. s mines
the wreckage and damage at the
mouth of NJ. would have eqaalled
that occurring at the mouth OF No. 3.
As 1t is. No, G is but slightly damaged,
while No. s is completely demolished.
Experience gathered from many nina
explosions has shown that dust ex.
plosion gathers force with the dis.
lance travelled, and usually bursts
with greatest momentum at the mouth
OF the mine affected. Fourth-Exam.
nation under ground shows that the
position OF the men and animals Is
facing away from No. G and towarl
the mouth Of No. s. which is only fol!
lowing the natural instructive law
OF getting away from the seat OF dan.
ger. Furthermore, the wreckage and
the debris in the mine seem to Indl.
cate that the explosion came from the
No. workings through the No. z
north face entry into the No. s mine.
Fifth-lf the explosion had been
purely gas explosion it is most likely
that the destruction would have been
confined TO one panel or entry.
The greatest difficulty In opening
the MonoGah mines is due to the dan.
ger of second explosion caused Dy
the coal In various portions being on
fire and the flames ignitlng large
quantities OF gas that the workings
contain. One fire was discovered %
the right Of the main entry in No. 2,
and a pipeline was Immediately laid
into the mine and the fire extinguish.
ed. Yesterday afternoon 1t was be.
lieved that another fire existed to the
left of the main entry in No. s AMI
Chief Inspector Paul thought It al.
visable TO Withdraw all men from botil
mines and concentrate attention on
this fire before carrying rescue WORK
further. This plan was followed out
and It is probable that greater ad.
vance will be made to-day than at
my previous time.
Lessons Learned.
Although the Fairmont Coal Com.
pany has a system Of operation and
an engineering department almost I'M
equaiied by any other coal company
in America. and in spite Of the fact
that the management does not stop
at expense when the safety aud com;
fort Of It's men are concerned, the ex!
triosion win teach many sad lessons.