28 Apr 1900 - Accident with Explosives - One man injured
A charge of gelignite having missed-fire, the hewer inserted a second one and fired it. Afterwards when hewing down the top coal he caught the detonator of the first charge with his pick. (Gelignite.)
Source: 1900 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 536), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
Jan 1901 - Accident with explosives - One man injured
Some boys obtained possession of some detonators out of a deputy's chest, and amused themselves by placing the detonators on the rails and exploding them by running tubs over them. One of the boys was off work 59 days.
Source: 1901 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1062), Newcastle District (No. 3) by J. L. Hedley, H.M. Inspector of Mines, copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian.
17 Oct 1919 - Surface fire
Five of the underground fires were due to ignition of timber by some form of torch lamp, and in each case were the result of carelessness. None of them was very dangerous in itself or in the consequences, but only because the fire was detected before it became very large and little real damage was done because water happened to be near at hand.
On 17th October, about half-an-hour after coal-drawing had ceased, a cabin on the banking level near the shaft top of the Burradon Colliery, Northumberland, was seen to be on fire. The flames spread rapidly, and in a short time the pithead gear, the banking level and several cabins were involved. The colliery brigade soon got to work and warning was sent to the Coal Owners' Brigade at Elswick. The Elswick Brigade covered the distance by road in a remarkably short space of time, arriving 18 minutes after being called for, and was quickly followed by the Ashington and Houghton Brigades. The fire was extinguished in about four hours.
At Burradon Colliery there are two shafts. The Downcast is the winding shaft and coals are wound from the Low Main Seam level. The ventilation is effected by a fan placed near the top of the upcast shaft. This shaft is fitted with two rope guides and a cage to enable it to be used as a second outlet. The upcast shaft is used also for ventilating the Lizzie or Weetslade Pit as well as the Burradon; the former being a mile from the latter. Thus the Weetslade and Burradon pits, both downcasts, act as second outlets to each other in addition to the upcast pit at Burradon. Very shortly after the fire commenced the winding ropes were burnt through at the downcast shaft. One cage was at the pit top and the other at the pit bottom. The cage at the surface fell to the pit bottom as also the other winding rope. The electric power shaft cables were also rendered useless. At the commencement of the fire the ventilating fan was stopped with a view to diminishing the quantity of smoke which might descend the shaft. Some years ago, in order to minimise any danger from a surface fire and to prevent smoke from descending the shaft, the management had driven a drift from the surface to a point a few fathoms down the shaft. Two iron doors were inserted in the shaft just below the surface level. In case of fire it was understood that the cages should be set at "meetings" and these iron doors shut. This would allow the air current to pass into the shaft clear of the surface erections. When the fire took place these doors were promptly closed, but in the confusion it was omitted to set both cages to "meetings" and the surface cage in falling carried away the doors. When the fire broke out all the men had left the mine except 10, who had gone to work in the different seams during the afternoon. It is very satisfactory to be able to say that as soon as they discovered smoke in the air all these men used sound judgment in their behaviour. Some proceeded at once towards the Weetslade shaft and were met on the way by a rescue party. Others short circuited the ventilating current and took shelter in a roadway which they bratticed off and waited until they were reached by rescue parties.
Owing to the prompt attendance of the Elswick Fire and Rescue Brigade the danger on the surface was not nearly so serious as it might have been. The winding and ventilating machinery was not affected, and the screening plant was almost unharmed. Two days after the fire, while lowering a cable into the shaft, the shaftmen noticed flames in the High Main Seam mouthing, 47 fathoms from the surface. At this seam there is a disused connection road between the two shafts. There is a stopping built in the roadway but a slight scale of air was passing through a small hole in the stopping. When the ventilating fan was stopped and the roadway was examined it was found that several pieces of timber lying in the roadway were burning, and that near to the stopping there was a slight fire in the coal. These were damped down with sand and afterwards the material was dug out.
Five days after the first fire occurred the shaftmen making an inspection reported another fire 106 fathoms from the surface at the Furnace Seam. The fire was in a small opening which was built off with the exception of a small hole in the masonry through which some heated material must have been projected, and a current of air was found to be percolating through some old workings to the upcast shaft. The Elswick Brigade were quickly in attendance, and the chief officer adopted the following method to extinguish the outbreak. From a hydrant near the shaft some 2½-inch instantaneous hose was connected and hung down the shaft side. Precautionary measures were taken to prevent the possibility of the hose breaking and each length was lashed to the buntons. In all about 222 yards of hose were hung in the shaft. The hose was terminated with iron perforated piping at the seat of the fire and water was so turned on as not to allow an excessive head of water in the shaft. As soon as this was done I made an inspection of the place and found that the coal sides near the roof of an old road were on fire. Water was poured on for three days and the heated material was all dug out.
The fire on the surface seems to have originated in the shaftsman's cabin. The shaftman had just completed examining one side of the shaft and he was using an open torch lamp. The probability is that he lighted this lamp in the cabin. The use of these flaming open lights about shafts and colliery premises is a dangerous proceeding. For shaft work it ought to be possible to adopt some form of portable electric lamp. The occurrence demonstrated the usefulness of the Coal Owners' combined Rescue and Fire Brigades, as it was owing to the speed with which the brigade reached the premises and the completeness of their equipment which prevented the place being gutted.
Source: 1919 Mines Inspectors Report (Cmd 925)
Durham Mining Museum
1927 - Roof fall - One injured
The condition of the roof in longwall working depends largely upon the speed, regularity of advance, and systematic timbering of the working face. A hewer was seriously injured by a large fall of roof in a longwall place at Burradon Colliery, Northumberland, in circumstances which were classified as "unavoidable" under the prevailing conditions. It should be pointed out, however, that in the majority of these cases the problem is to support a block of stone, generally of uncertain lateral dimensions and of small thickness, and the failure to set adequate supports in suitable positions results in a fall of roof and a number of props canted out but not broken. It is the general experience in such cases to find that no further fall of roof has occurred when the place is visited by the Inspector, one or two days afterwards, proving that general "roof weight" took no part in the accident. The fundamental fault in many of these cases lies in the method of working and established customs. The working face is found to be in a very irregular line and props are set with a total disregard to systematic timbering so that although the hewer may scarcely have room to work between roof supports his place is insecurely timbered. Straight faces, regular advance and systematic timbering would prevent many of the so-called "unavoidable" accidents and react to the advantage of the hewer by increasing his safety and productiveness.
Source: 1927 Mines Inspectors Report
Durham Mining Museum |
