From day one, Mine Safety Appliances has been a leader in keeping workers safe. Its mission started with founders John Ryan and George Deike on June 14, 1914 when MSA set up a workplace in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. Their first order of business was to enlist Thomas Edison to scale down his alkaline battery to power a flameless cap lamp.
It was a horrific workplace tragedy that led to the creation of MSA. On the morning of March 26, 1912, the Jed Mine in West Virginia exploded. In a flash, methane gas ignited and more than 80 miners lost their lives. From this tragedy, mine engineer John T. Ryan Sr. had an epiphany: “If I could spend my life doing what I can to lessen the likelihood of the occurrence of such terrible disasters, I shall feel in the end that my life had been well spent.”