PIPELINE ACCIDENT REPORT. COLUMBUS GAS OF WEST VIRGINIA, INC., CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA, DECEMBER 2, 1973

At 3:30 p.m., on December 2, 1973, an explosion followed by an intense fire killed three persons, injured two others, and destroyed a house on the outskirts of Charleston, W. Va. Fire, fueled by natural gas which had saturated the soil, later rekindled briefly in the ground around the house. After the accident, two pit-hole leaks were found in the 2-inch gas main, operated at 39 psig, which served the area; the leaks were 11 feet from the house and 1 foot from the concrete driveway which led to the house. Gas company personnel later repaired both leaks without shutting off the gas main or interrupting service to any other customers. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the explosion and fire was the ignition, by an unknown source, of an accumulation of natural gas which had leaked from two corrosion holes in a nearby 2-inch gas main.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Office of Surface Transportation Safety
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1974-8-21

Media Info

• Pagination: 36 p.

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00080235
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB-PAR-74-4 Acc. Rpt.
• Files: NTIS
• Created Date: Jan 29 1975 12:00AM