Description

At Deaf Hill Colliery, an overman, G. Bedford, and a pumpman, S. D. Myers, were suffocated in a return airway in the Hutton seam, 120 yards from the upcast shaft when making an exploration to discover the seat of a fire.

At 8.45 p.m. Myers had telephoned to the surface fan-attendant to say that when descending in the cage in the upcast shaft from the Hutton seam inset to the Harvey seam a short time previously he had observed smoke at the Hutton seam, and to ask him to inform Bedford who lived close to the pit.

On arrival at the pit at about 9.25 p.m. Bedford descended at once to the Harvey seam, and shortly afterwards the cage was signalled up to the Hutton inset and then rapped "clear." That was the last that was heard of Bedford and Myers.

At 10 p.m. a deputy, J. H. Walker, coming on duty with several other men, descended the upcast to the Harvey seam, but returned almost at once, having encountered smoke in the air in the shaft down to the Hutton seam inset.

Being then informed of Bedford's descent, he sent a messenger to fetch the foreoverman, S. Jackson, who reached the pit at 10.45 p.m. The latter at once sent Walker and another deputy, W. Langlands to explore by way of the intake in the Harvey seam. At a point in the Harvey seam, 250 yards from the downcast shaft and at the bottom of a drift leading up to the Hutton seam, they found a raging fire. Walker took steps to deal with the fire, whilst Langlands reported by telephone to the surface and asked for the fire brigade to be summoned, A length of hose was run out from a pump at the pit bottom, but being too short it was ineffective.

Matters were becoming desperate when the undermanager, J. Leavy, in the absence of the manager on holiday, was summoned, and reached the pit at about 11.30 p.m. As the only Post Office telephone on the premises was in the colliery office, and this was locked, the Rescue Station was not warned until 11.45 p.m. The rescue brigade being further delayed in fog, did not arrive at the pit until 12.15 a.m. on Sunday. At 12.50 a.m. the brigade found the bodies of Bedford and Myers in the Hutton seam return at 120 yards from the upcast shaft. They had evidently been overcome in attempting to locate the fire from the return side.

Although there were definite indications of the presence of the gaseous products of fire in the upcast shaft, it continued to be used for ascent and descent until after midnight.

The fire was finally subdued and extinguished by means of copious supplies of water at 5 am.

Investigation later revealed that the fire had originated in the heated bearing of a return wheel which was used in connexion with an endless-rope haulage at the bottom of the Hutton seam drift. The frame of the return wheel was made of wood and this was ignited by burning coal dust.

Heating had been observed at this bearing during work in the early hours of the Saturday morning. Water was applied and the wheel pit kept under observation until the haulage ceased at 10 a.m. Bedford, the deceased overman, was informed and he arranged for the wheel hole to be cleaned out on the Sunday night. Apparently the wheel hole had been neglected, for it was said the cleaning operation would have taken two hours.

This affair reflects little credit on any of those responsible for dealing with it. To start with, it was foolhardy to attempt to approach the fire from the return side. The foreoverman ought to have summoned the rescue brigade as soon as he knew there was a fire in the workings and even after the undermanager arrived there was delay in doing so. The undermanager and foreoverman showed lack of foresight in allowing the upcast shaft to be used when the air in it was known to be fouled by the fire. It is fortunate that this did not result in further disaster.

Further, and finally, the arrangements for telephonic communication between the colliery and the higher officials and the rescue station during the night were anything but satisfactory.

Tombstone

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