The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-10-17
An ENGLISH COLLIERY ON FIRE.
[From the London News, October 81

# From the London News, October D.
The catastrophe which about to chronicle took
place at page Bank of the Byers Green coeries
Page Bank is about four miles from West Hartlepool.
It seems that the might shift had gone in at two
o'clock Thursday, numbering from forty to seventy
men and boys. With them was an overman named John
Mould This mans duties ceased at s. a. m, at which
time he had completed thorough inspection Of the
workings and had arrived at the bottom of the shaft
ready to be relieved by his The second
man, named Thomas Kellett arrived at the pit mouth
about the time and lowered On his way down
he smet fire in the woodwork and reported the
fact to Mould Accordingly, they sent information round
the works. requesting the to assemble at the bottom
of the shaft and in the tme began themselves to
ascend for the purposes of inspection Mould rode inside
the ''cage box which holds the sma-coal wagon in
its ascent and descent and Kelett sat the outside
They had it would appear besn drawn up considerable
distance-ten fathoms more--when some portion of
the brattice which had been set free by the fire. FELL and
knocked poor Kelett from his seat thus preciptatng
him to the bottom, and in all probability killing him
Mould was drawn to the top and Immediately gave
alarm, but the fire suddenly got such hold that it was
impossible to render any assistance to the below al
though their cries for help could be distinctly heard The
fire very got hold of the spears or wooden
and piston of the pumping engine and thus this was
brought to stand-still. The flames rushed up the pit
and burnt considerable portion Of the woodwork
its mouth and when this had been extinguished,
the dense smoke issuing from the pit gave terrible ndca
ton of the fire that still ragged below.
The engines arrived in short space of time and
which directed to the burning timber and also to
the drift the coal in which was found to have ignited
IL probably when the fire reached this drift that the
explosion spoken Of took place Had the fire originated
from explosion in the works. il is difficult to how
Mould could be ignorant of It, how he could have
capped the brattces being certainly fire when Kellet
going down, and therefore before Mould began to
ascend. geH
The incidents of this day were of an nnvarying de-
scripton, and also Of the night Dense volumes of
smoke continued to be emitted dense that the repeat
ed attempts Of to get any distance down the pit
quite uitless Battce cloth put the pit mouth
with view to creating artificial current, but there
little hope that this would be of any avail the in
PRODUCTION Of fresh air only making the fire burn
fercely, without relieving the poor fellows down below
The idea of the engineers that they will be able in
time to cut off the fire in the drift from that in the shalt
and that the latter will then exhaust itself There is
however, the possibility that the coal in the workings
will take fire, il it has not done already and still fur
her there is the certainty that in five days at the most
the whole coery will be full of water the quantity ord-
nary pumped out being nearly 900 gallons per hour
aud the pumping engines being totally disabled.
As to the chances Of escape for the poor fellows In the
pit opinions vary The viewers upon the fact that
the workings cover eighty acres and that these workings
sufficient magazine of air to sustain life for several
days But this will every hour be diminished by
water and other experienced OF opinion that
the descent of carbonic acid gas will be considerable
speedily to destroy life, whilst the pitmen say that
the air in the workings Is itself little better than choke
damp.
The fire must, it appears, have originated from the
furnace II is suggested that spark had boon carried
up the shaft and rested upon the timber but batcng
Is of too missve character to take fire from spark I'M
less rendered highly combusble by intense and long
continued heat.
DURHAM, Friday Evening The number Of men in the
Page bank pit larger than stated yesterday They
have all been got out to-day The last was got out at
o'clock this evening, after having been In forty hours
Seventy-one alive and ten dead The pit Is still on
fire at blower in the shaft