Benwell Colliery Disaster. 19th. March, 1907.
Benwell Colliery (Charlotte pit).
Colliery owned by Messrs. Cochrane Carr, Ltd.,
Colliery Manager, Mr. E. T. Ornsby.
Explosion occurred at 5.40 p.m. in the Brockwell seam.
4 killed.
John Conelly. 16 years of age.
Richard Kirk. 55 years of age. Occupation, deputy.
George Thomas Johnson. 17 years of age.
Archibald Robson. 55 years of age. Occupation, deputy.
The Brockwell seam was worked on the bord and pillar system.
It was moderately gassy. Locked safety lamps were used in the workings.
The use of naked lights was permitted on the intake air roads up to but no further than caution boards.
Archibald Robson took one of the safety lamps from the caution board. While he was substituting the red (caution) glass of the lamp for a white glass. The gauze inside the lamp became detached from the lamp and fell to the ground.
The flame was therefore no longer protected and later it ignited firedamp, which ignited coal dust .
Lamps on the caution board were single gauze shielded Clanny safety lamps.
Safety lamps used elsewhere had double gauzes.
The explosion was confined to two adjoining districts, Fenham North and Fenham West.
On the day of the explosion the districts had been examined by the two fore-shift deputies who reported all the working places free from gas. Between 12 and 1 p.m., an overman had been round the districts and also found them gas free.
About 30 miners were underground when the explosion occurred.
Robson and Kirk were back-shift deputies who had remained after their ordinary shift to draw timber from three completed juds. Two lads ( John Conelly and George Johnson ) were there to assist in removing timber and rails that had been drawn off.
Robson was found lying on his face with his head facing out-bye, he was severely burned. 6 yards inbye from his body a locked safety lamp was found lying on its side.
Johnson's body was found beside a tram partly loaded with timber and rails. His head was facing out-bye and was also severely burned.
The day after the explosion a locked safety lamp, No. 105, was discovered near the place where Johnson's body had been found.
The presence of gases hindered operations and the bodies of Kirk and Conelly were discovered at 4 a.m. on the 20th. March. Both were in the left hand jud, Kirk was found under a timber train; Conelly was a few yards nearer the face of the jud.
Three safety lamps were found there, one had the glass broken but was otherwise undamaged.
Inquest's verdict on Archibald Robson.
The deceased died from carbon monoxide poisoning produced or resulting from an explosion of firedamp and coal dust in the North Flat Fenham District of the Brockwell seam.
All the bodies were examined by Dr. Appleby who found that they all died from inhalation of carbon-monoxide gas.
It was decided that the starting point of the explosion appeared to have been lamp No.105.
The red glass from No. 105 lamp was found in Robson's chest after the explosion.
No other source of ignition was found.
Information Source.
Extracts from R. A. S. Redmayne, H. M. Chief Inspector of Mines. report on the explosion.
|
