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	Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	2nd May 1863
Colliery:	Auckland, St. Helens
Company:	Joseph Pease and Co.
Cause:	Shaft accident
Lives Lost:	1
Category:

At St. Helen’s Auckland Colliery, on the 2nd May, John Pearson was going down a staple within the mine to change a valve of clack connected with a set of pumps in the staple, and on reaching a depth of about 15 fathoms from the top of the staple, and coming near to the surface of the water, a slight explosion of fire-damp occurred, scorching him seriously.

In general on previous occasions the water in the staple had been pumped down low enough to admit of the passage of a current of air from the under-level drift up the staple, before the person had gone down the staple to change the clack ; and the latter operation had regularly been performed with the assistance of a naked light, and without any fire-damp having been observed.

On this occasion it appears that Pearson had gone down the staple before the level of the water had been lowered far enough to admit of the passage of the current of air through the drift to the staple ; indeed the viewer of the colliery states that the clack and bucket doors were under water at the time of his going down. He died on the 25th May, 23 days after the accident, the immediate cause of death being said to be inflammation of the bronchial tubes, probably caused by the burns.

Precautionary measures have been adopted to guard against a similar accident in future.

This accident, like many others, illustrates the propriety of all those parts of fire-damp mines which are in the form of a cul-de-sac being first entered and examined by safety lamps only — a rule which is generally adopted with reference to working places.

Source:

1863 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines

	Pearson, John, aged 42, Graither, burnt by explosion of gas in staple
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