634

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

September 24, 1915.

sufficiently near the floor to prevent a person slipping
underneath. At many mines in Lancashire excellent
fences of this type are in use, and afford adequate pro-
tection. The chief inspector has also frequently had his
attention drawn to the bad practice of removing the
fence before the cage is stopped at the entrance. The
words “ other operations ” in section 37 (3) clearly do
not refer to winding, and “ proper precautions,” which
include having the cage in position, are to be observed
before the fence is temporarily removed.

Miscellaneous Underground Accidents.—There were
41 fatalities under this heading, causing the same
number of deaths, a reduction of three fatal accidents
and four deaths as compared with the previous year.
Four were due to explosives. Twenty-six deaths
occurred in connection with haulage, and the remaining
11 are included as sundries. Of non-fatal accidents,
there were 198, causing injuries to 200 persons. In
the previous year the figures were 196 and 205 respec-
tively. There were no deaths due to the use of elec-
tricity, and only three non-fatal cases were reported.

Four lives were lost when using explosives, and all
four fatalities could have been avoided by the adoption
of ordinary precautions, while three of them constituted
breaches of the Explosives in Coal Mines Order.

The underground haulage accidents show the substan-
tial decrease of eight fatal accidents and nine deaths, as
compared with the previous year, but the non-fatal
haulage accidents reported are 22 more. There were no
deaths actually proved to be due to illegal riding, but
six persons were injured while doing so.

Accidents on Surface.—Ten fatalities occurred on the
surface, resulting in thei loss of 10 lives, a reduction of
four on the previous year. The non-fatal accidents
numbered 56, with 56 persons injured, a slight reduction
on the figures for 1913. Of the fatal accidents, one was
caused by machinery, four occurred on railways or
sidings, and the remaining five were of a miscellaneous
character. The majority were of a very simple nature,
and some could probably have been avoided with a little
care.

Dangerous Occurrences. — Thirty-two dangerous
occurrences were reported during the year, a very con-
siderable reduction as compared with the previous year.
They are divided under the following headings :—
Ignition of gas, four; underground fires, seven; breakage
of winding rope, chain, or other gear, 15; overwinding,
five; inrush of water, one—total, 32. Two of the occur-
rences were cases of gas being ignited by naked lights,
and other two of gas being ignited by shots. Three of
the cases of underground fires were the result of spon-
taneous combustion, and one was caused by an electric
cable. The most serious case of spontaneous combus-
tion was at Low Hall Colliery, in the Ravine seam,
reported on October 12. It was first noticed on
October 8, when gob stink and smoke were observed
coming from the waste at the top of a ribbing in the
Ravine seam. No fire was actually seen at this stage,
and on October 13, when an inspection was made, there
were no indications of excessive moisture or sweating,
and the hygrometer showed the relative humidity to be
about 76 per cent. There were no signs of increasing
temperature, but considerable volumes of smoke of an
irritating nature rather suggested the burning of timber
which had been buried in the goaf. The Ravine seam
at Lo-w Hall Colliery is 7 to 8‘ft. in thickness, of which
the top portion, 1| or 2 ft. thick, is left up as a roof,
being of poor quality and intermixed with dirt bands.
The district affected had been cut into pillars, 40 by
45 yds., which were being extracted downhill by the
ordinary method of ribbing. Several attempts were
made by driving in the coal to locate the fire and dig it
out, but the fire developed to such an extent that this
idea had to be abandoned, and it was finally decided to
seal off all the adjacent workings. In order to do this
effectually, it was necessary to build 12 large stoppings,
on roads which had all more or less fallen to a great
height, the strata above the coal being of a very friable
nature. After considerable difficulty in obtaining suit-
able positions, dams were built consisting of brick walls
4 to 5 ft. thick. Sand packs, 2 ft. in thickness, were
rammed hard and tight between the brick walls. Before
these dams were all completed the fire had apparently
burnt out or died down, and at the present time there
is no indication of smoke. Soon after the commence-
ment of the operations, all workmen who were not
engaged at work in connection with the fire, were with-
drawn from the ventilating district and the roads lead-
ing thereto, and the portions of the district adjacent to
the fire wrere copiously treated with flue dust. Qualified
men with rescue apparatus were kept constantly on the
spot, and the whole of the work was efficiently carried
out without any accident.

At Ashton’s Green No. 3 Pit, gob stink was noticed
in the Roger seam on August 14, and reported three
days later. A successful attempt to dig out the fire
was made, and it was afterwards found that the fire was
evidently due to some bottom coal having been left on
under the road packs next a narrow rib of coal. Another
case of spontaneous combustion also occurred at the
same mine in the Ravenhead Main Delph seam, about
the same time as the above-mentioned fire. In this
case, no actual fire was seen, but the usual characteristic
paraffin smell was noticed, and after several attempts
to locate the fire, it was decided to stop off the seat of
the fire, and this was ultimately done. Two cases of
spontaneous combustion in the Four-feet seam at
Pendleton Colliery were reported, but only in one case
was fire observed, and the whole of the pit was at once
“ loosed-out.” The levels into the district were then
dammed off.

A case of spontaneous combustion was reported from
Abram Colliery on November 19. As in the Low Hall
fire, this also occurred in the Ravine seam. At Abram
the distance between this seam and the Yard, or Orrell
Five-feet seam below, varies from 20 to 5 yds. The
Yard seam has been worked over a large area, and the

Ravine has been won by means of short tunnels driven
up from the lower seam. The ground between is of a
very friable nature, and at one point where the thick-
ness was only 7 yds., a large fall took place, leaving a
cavity between the two seams. In order to prevent
further falls, this cavity was built up with stacks of old
railway sleepers, and it was near this point that heating
was discovered on November 12. The heating rapidly
developed into a gob fire, no doubt assisted by the
inflammable nature of the railway sleepers. Steps were
at once taken to stow up the roads in both seams,
more with a view to preventing further falls than with
the intention of making airtight stoppings, as it was not
considered feasible to prevent leakage of air at this
point, the strata being in a very broken condition, due
to irregular packing in the Old Yard workings. A con-,
siderable number of men were constantly engaged in
the work of stowing up the old roads round the fire
area, but on December 15, 16, and 17, the fumes from
the fire became so bad that several men, including the
under-manager and a fireman, were for a time overcome.
An interesting, but at the same time a rather disturb-
ing element, was the fact that the canaries used were
unaffected by the fumes given off. On one occasion the
men, on returning two hours after having been driven
out, found the canary was quite lively, and had suffered
no ill-effects from the fumes. On such occasions the
flame of a safety lamp continued to burn brightly, and
the injurious effects were probably due to carbon
monoxide. For a considerable time afterwards the
packing was carried on by men wearing breathing
dresses. As soon as ground was reached which had a
reasonable chance of remaining airtight, sand rammed
tight was used for the packing. For several months all
the accessible roads in the Yard seam through which
air could leak have been cleaned up to solid ground, and
all round packed with sand. This work is now proceed-
ing, although no fire or smoke has been seen for some
considerable time, and the probability is that the fire
is out.

Prosecutions.

Legal proceedings were taken in three cases against
managers. A fourth case, for the contravention of the
provisions of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1908, was
withdrawn.

The total number of prosecutions of workmen by
owners as shown by the conviction returns was 102, a
reduction of 22 on the previous year. The penalties
inflicted amounted to £66 17s., and the total costs were
£62 8s. The average amount of penalties and costs
was £1 5s. 4d. By far the largest number of contra-
ventions occurred in connection with matches and
smoking. There were 66 prosecutions under this head-
ing, and all resulted in convictions. The penalties
amounted to £51 12s. 6d. and the costs to £41 11s. 6d.

Ventilation.

Speaking generally, there is an improvement in the
standard of ventilation. Considerable interest is taken
by managers in the analyses of samples of air, and the
result is beneficial. During the year 226 samples of air
were taken and analysed. Of this number, 74 were
intake air samples, 108 return air samples, and 14 were
taken in connection with heating and gob fires. Twenty
samples were taken on electric coal-cutter faces, and. 10
in connection with shot firing. The general sampling of
all the main intakes and returns has been completed.
As a rule the results of the analyses of the samples show
that the air was well up to the standard required by
the Act as regards the percentage of oxygen, inflammable
gas, and carbon di-oxide.

Coal Dust.

Considerable strides have been made during the last
12 months in minimising this serious danger, but at
many mines much remains to be done. At some mines
more efficient means require to be taken on the surface
to prevent the fine dust from the screens passing into
the downcast shaft. If this were done thoroughly, a more
lasting prevention of the accommodation of dust in the
shaft sidings and on the main roads adjacent thereto
would be effected and the ordinary means of treatment
underground would have additional effect. Compared
with some mining districts, the tubs used in Lancashire
and North Wales are distinctly inferior in construction
and condition, and although the speed of the haulage
is slow, this benefit is frequently counterbalanced by
the irregularity of the road and unevenness of the rails
on which the tubs travel, and from both causes much
dust is created and deposited. At several mines new
types of steel tubs have been introduced with satis-
factory results. The cleaning of coal dust from floor,
roof, and sides is carried out with varying success at
different mines, and is recorded, but the value of such
reports would be increased if the number of tubs of dust
filled and the actual lengths of road cleaned up were
stated in the report. At a very large proportion of
collieries, mills for grinding fine stone dust have oeen
erected^ or are in course of erection, and there is a very
marked increase in the use of inert dust, not only on the
roadways, but in the vicinity of the face when shot-firing
takes place. Watering the floor is still carried out, but
is giving place to the more lasting treatment by means of
stone or flue dust. Fine sprays are in use in a few cases
with fairly good results for a short distance. Calcium
chloride as a means of keeping down the dust is still
adopted at a few mines. A rough and ready means
of sampling and analysing the dust on main roads might
be more generally adopted, so as to ensure that there
will always be a safe margin of stone dust, and such
records from time to time would be of interest.

Explosives Order.

Generally speaking, the Order is working satisfactorily
and its provisions carefully observed. During the early
part of the year there were several complaints of incom-
plete detonation of portions of the charge, the remnant
often burning in the shot-hole. The explosives did not
appear to have the same strength as formerly, and there

were also a few complaints as to the injurious effect of
the fumes given off by some of the explosives. These
complaints have now ceased, and users have been able
to decide upon a suitable explosive which gives satis-
factory results from amongst the numerous, explosives
on the Permitted List. Towards the end of the year
sodium nitrate has in some gunpowders been substituted
for potassium nitrate, owing to the latter being required
for munitions of war. While giving good results, such
explosives appear to deteriorate sooner on keeping.

Rescue Regulations.

Rescue work has made considerable progress during
the year, and with the exception of a few small mines,
including several which have only recently been brought
within a distance of 10 miles of a rescue station, the
requisite brigades have been formed and trained, and
the Order complied with. The central and parent rescue
station at Howe Bridge still continues to provide train-
ing, under the able supervision of Sergt.-Major Hill, for
the majority of the coal mines in Lancashire. In July
1914 a commodious station was opened near St. Helens
by Mr. Charles Pilkington, and has since done useful
work under a competent instructor, and thereby relieved
the pressure at the Howe Bridge station. In the same
month a small station was opened at Coppull to meet
the requirements of those collieries in the Chorley dis
trict which were outside the 10-mile radius from Howe
Bridge. In November, Mr. John Gerrard, on the invita-
tion of the committee of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Coal Owners’ Rescue Association, opened the Rose Grove
rescue station at Burnley, so as to provide for the needs
of collieries in the northern area of the Lancashire coal
field. The number of new teams trained at the above-
mentioned stations during 1914 was 33, and the total
number of fresh men 164. In addition, a large number
of trained teams have attended for regular practice.
The total number of men trained up to the present time
is 1,414. Other two rescue stations, one at Denton,
and a smaller one at Skelmersdale, are both completed,
and are simply waiting delivery of apparatus to complete
equipment. The Denton station was opened by Sir
Wm. Garforth on March 6, 1915. The number of firms
in Lancashire now affiliated with the above-mentioned
rescue stations is 86. The central rescue station at
Wrexham continues to do excellent work, and provides
instruction for teams from 16 collieries in Denbighshire.
Twenty-nine teams have been trained, and 173 men
have received instruction. Of this number 34 have gone
on military duty. The rescue station at Mold was
opened early in the year, and though on a smaller scale
than those at Howe Bridge and Wrexham, it is quite
adequate for the Flintshire coal mines; 10 teams,
embracing 55 men, were instructed, and went through
the prescribed training during the year. Owing to the
urgent call for ambulance men, and men efficient in the
use of breathing dresses, for military service, it has
been difficult to maintain the full complement of trained
men at some collieries.

General Regulations 147-149 relating to ambulance are
duly observed, except that at a few small mines the
regulation as to the provision of a suitably constructed
ambulance carriage may not have been carried into
effect.

Signalling.

The new code of signalling, both for shafts and haul-
age, is in operation and working quite satisfactorily.
Where men are raised in more than one deck there has
been considerable variation as to the signal to be given
for “ change decks.” The installation of visual signals
progresses at an extremely slow rate, and the majority
of the indicators in use are far from satisfactory. Many
of them do not comply with the requirements, inasmuch
as the signals accumulate and are obliterated by the
winding engineman and not by the movement of the
engine. In some types the pointer always returns to
“one,” and remains there during the wind. Many
types appear to be unreliable and are frequently out of
order, and sometimes the winders take no notice of the
indication given on the dial. In the mechanical types
much depends on the manner in which the rap is given.
On the whole the electric indicators appear to give better
results than those mechanically operated, but they are
usually more complicated and expensive. In
Lancashire, where there are often several shafts for a
moderate output, five or six visual indicators may be
required. In such cases one or two types have been
installed as experiments, pending a definite decision for
the remaining engines. Several makers have been
unable to give delivery through having to concentrate all
their energies on War Office work with a reduced staff,
and in a great measure this has delayed the installation
of visual indicators. At a few mines the management
have been unable to complete their telephone installa-
tions on the haulage roads, owing to the difficulty
experienced in obtaining delivery of the necessary
apparatus.

Care and Treatment of Animals.

Generally speaking, the condition of the horses and
ponies employed underground is good, and the constant
and periodical inspection exercised has effected consider-
able improvement in the animals themselves and in their
surroundings. Fewer cases of roofing are reported, and
there have been fewer complaints of ponies working
without being provided writh food and water whilst at
work. In several instances more commodious stables
have been built and ventilated by purer air. Some of
the eye guards are not so satisfactory as could be wished.
The type in w’hich the eye is protected by iron vfire
mesh frequently become a source of injury instead of
protection to the eye, owing to the wires becoming rusted
and broken. Guards of the leather flap type, unless
adequately stiffened, soon become useless in damp
situations.

In all 1,764 horses w’ere used. Other particulars are
as under :—Number died (exclusive of those required
to be destroyed.—From injury by accident, 23; from