Blacksmith Shop Explosion Nearly Injures Workers
A trapped water pocket in a sealed iron rudder stock causes a dangerous blast in a West Street forge.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A singular explosion occurred in William McLellan's blacksmith shop on West street, at the corner of University, yesterday, which came near seriously injuring some of the workmen. An old iron rudder stock was being repaired. It was made of three-inch gas pipe, and each end had been made solid by pieces of iron welded in so it could be attached properly to the rudder and tiller. By some means or other the gas pipe got filled with water while it had been in use, and when it was heated in the fire to be repaired it exploded, hurling a piece about two feet long clear across the shop and up against the wall. None of the workmen happened to be standing near the part that gave way or they would certainly have been seriously hurt. The piece that flew out went right over the heads of some of those who were several feet away.
“The piece that flew out went right over the heads of some of those who were several feet away.”
Accidents involving high-pressure steam or trapped fluids in repurposed industrial scrap were common in the pre-OSHA era of Seattle's waterfront. Today, the corner of West and University sits deep in the heart of downtown, far from the industrial blacksmithing that once powered the city's maritime growth.
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