On a normal spring afternoon, students and teachers were about to wrap up their day at the newly built, cash‑rich Consolidated School in East Texas. But a leak—literally undetectable odorless natural gas seeping into the basement—turned routine into tragic. At 3:17 pm, when a wood‑shop teacher flipped on an electric sander, a spark ignited the gas, ripping the roof off, collapsing the building, and turning a proud school into rubble.
The Death Toll
Nearly 300 people died that day—mostly students from grades 5 through 11. Estimates range from 294 to 298 fatalities, though the exact number remains unknown due to the chaos and destroyed records.
Victims were buried in a dedicated section of Pleasant Hill Cemetery, a stark reminder of the town’s collective grief.
