Description

Explosions

No. 55 in list. The more serious explosion occurred at Hebburn Colliery, on the 4th November, and caused such injuries to six persons as resulted in the deaths of all of them during the three following days. After, however, making a careful investigation, I do not feel justified in calling it entirely an explosion of fire-damp.

An inquest was held by the coroner, Mr. John Graham, on the 6th, and continued on the 14th, 20th, and 28th November, when the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

At this, inquiry the owners were represented by Mr. R. W. Cooper, Solicitor, Newcastle, and the Durham Miners' Association by Mr. H. Forrest, Solicitor, Durham. I was present during the inquiry and so was Mr. G. F. Bell, Assistant-Inspector in the district.

From the examination of the mine and from the evidence given at the inquiry I beg to submit the following report:—

Hebburn Colliery, belonging to the Tyne Coal Company, is situated on the south bank of the river Tyne, in the county of Durham. Mr. R. T. Swallow is the chief manager, and Mr. Joseph Elwen is the certificated manager.

There are two shafts for drawing coals, viz. :— The A pit, or downcast, which is 12 ft. diameter, and the C pit or upcast, which is also 12 ft. diameter. At the top of the latter pit a Guibal fan 36 ft. in diameter is placed, and exhausts the air from the mine.

These shafts are connected underground in the Hutton Seam. At the A pit, which is the one affected by the explosion, there are three seams worked:—

(i.) The Bensham at 160 fathoms from the surface.

(ii.) The Hutton at 188 fathoms from the surface.

(iii.) The Beaumont at 210 fathoms from the surface.

The shafts are, however, only sunk to the Hutton seam, the Beaumont seam being reached by a drift, a considerable distance to the north of the A pit shaft, dipping at the rate of 12 inches to the yard.

The explosion originated in, and was confined as to its effects, in what is known as the 1st West district of the Beaumont seam.

The accompanying sketch plan, No. 1, shows the extent of the workings affected by the explosion, the mode of ventilation, and the places where the men had left their lamps and working tools.

The Beaumont seam has an approximate section of —

The top coal is worked on the Longwall system with gateways about 10 yards apart, and cross-gateways at intervals of about 40 yards.

The stone or band and the thin coal below are only worked in the ordinary gateways for a width of about four feet; the stone being used for building pack-walls to support the roof.

The ventilating current enters the A pit, and passes along the Hutton seam to the top of the 12-inch per yard dip drift, where part of the air goes to the Hutton seam, and part to the Beaumont seam workings.

From the ventilation record book it appears there are generally about 11,000 cubic feet of air per minute going into the Beaumont seam.

The Beaumont workings are divided into three districts, viz., the 1st West, 2nd West, and 3rd West, and to the 1st West (plan No. 1) the effects of the explosion were confined. On the morning of the explosion Mr. G. F. Bell, Assistant Inspector, measured the air entering the 1st West district, at a distance of about 300 yards from the headways where a shot had been fired, and found the air entering the district at the rate of 3,900 cubic feet per minute, and this I understand is about the usual quantity.

The air passes in one current near the face of the coal, as shown by the arrows on the plan, by means of canvas doors hung in the gateways, and thence into the return airways.

The seam gives off fire-damp, which, according to the evidence given at the inquest, had been seen in this district about a month before the explosion, but not in large quantities.

I do not consider it a dusty seam.

The explosion occurred about 1.30 in the morning, when only shot-firers, shifters, and stonemen were at work. In the seam there were altogether about 20 men, but only eight of these were in the 1st West district.

Unfortunately all the men who could have thrown any light on the cause of the explosion died within a few days, the two men who were uninjured being some distance away.

The shot firer, who held a certificate from the manager to fire shots, carried a Davy lamp in a tin-can case, and the other men had either bonnetted Clanny or Marsaut safety lamps. None of the lamps were injured by the explosion and were found in a locked and safe condition.

In consequence of the absence of great explosive force, the extent of the explosion could only be ascertained from the presence of pellets of burnt dust upon some of the timber, and by the burning of the workmen. There were no signs of any timber having been displaced by the explosion, nor had there been any falls of roof. Further, the canvas doors on the cross-heading were uninjured.

From the position of the five lamps which were found in a gateway known as No. 17 West, and from that of the working tools, it is surmised that the men were in this gateway awaiting the explosion of a shot at the face of the cross-heading. The lamp of the sixth man was found at some distance away in the cross-heading, as shown in the plan.

It may be assumed that up to the time of the explosion nothing had occurred in this district to alarm the men.

The shot which had apparently been fired was at the face of the "canch" in the north headways or cross-heading.

After the accident the shot hole was carefully examined, and was found to have been drilled in the lower portion of the stone band and closely to the top of the thin coal, Plan No. 3.

The hole had been drilled by a machine and was 1½ inches diameter and 3 feet 10 inches in length. The hole was not placed at the best advantage to do its work, it being driven too much towards the left hand, causing 9 inches of the back end of the hole to be in the solid stone and coal at the side of the "canch," plan No. 2.

From its appearance the shot had partly done its work, the stone appearing to have been lifted and considerably shaken.

These circumstances, together with the fact that no stemming was found in the hole, lead to the conclusion that the shot must be termed "fast" or "blown out."

As the shot was fired by an experienced shot-firer it may be assumed that the air-current at the time did not contain sufficient fire-damp as to indicate its presence on the lamp.

The hole was charged with gelignite and roburite together, and it is my opinion that the accident whereby these men lost their lives was caused by the flame blown out from this "fast" shot assisted by any small quantity of fire-damp that might be present.

The question of using these high explosives together was gone into at the inquiry, but the manager said they had been in use for some months, and none of his officials had noticed any flame given off.

The evidence given at the inquest fully showed the method of working the mine ; explaining also the system of daily inspection and shot-firing.

With few exceptions all things appeared to me to have been carried on in the ordinary way.

Tombstone

Sources

• 1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Newcastle District (No. 3) by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 14, Accident Number: 55 Where to find this report
• 1889 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6015), Newcastle District (No. 3) by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 4 Where to find this report
• Church/Cemetery photograph (T-02191-04-0002) © Kev Duncan
• Headstone(s) in Jarrow cemetery
• Tombstone photograph (T-04375-08-0002) © Kev Duncan

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