The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-01-11

- second right FIRST south lniicar'ns
kieh and poTdeF explq
sf6as wefs He had sees
80 hot II lis
vii i U or tIaIne q sse' t5sc
Improper h1les cDe Is tFoor
OBI right hrst left and room % A.:
tfie same heading vas the sssne
evfdenced. He saw no other blown
out or over charged shots: on thlFt
left second RIGHT he considered It
very good heading shot. He thoueft
that the explosion might have orig
mated at room % on the second right
first south. He had a. years expert
ence in mining. He started In Eng
land and came to Pennsylvania. In
diana, Ohio. West Virginia and Mi
nols. He was mine boss, inspector OF
mines. The dust OF an underwriting
that is in suspension goes out Of ths
mine with the return Of air. The dust
in the return afr course would natural
IL be dampened. There is not the
same necessity for watering the re-
turn courses as there IS on the main
haul ways. The dust along the haul
ways should not be cIassed as coal
dust because It contains probably as
much stone as coal. The dust on the
payements does not contain the
high percentage of inflamabIe mat
Ter that dust in suspension does. He
found flame areas scattered: some
places far distant apart He found
flame areas where 1t was damp be
fore the explosion. He found the ribs
at room % right first south very
much charged and the only place
where the flame came down to the
pavement. The heat at this point
would release gases that were explo-
sive. The piles of debris that ac-
cumuIated on the rails was made dur
ing the process Of the explosion. He
found fire damp in three places in
small quantities but the ventilating
system was not complete. He thought
that the explosion of powder was the
initial cause and that the general ex.
pIosion was promulgated by released
gases that propagated series Of ex-
pIosions until the whole mine was COW
cred. He examined the bottom Of No.
6 slope. He found no evidence Of
flame. He said that he examined this
part of the mine inch by inch and no
flame was evidenced here nearer than
80 feet. The explosion came from No,
s to 6 was the opinion of the witness.
He could not connect the runaway trip
with the explosion. He made this ex-
animation at the instance OF the Fair
mont Coal Company. The first left of
C there was indication of heat and
here was blistered coal. The coal
bIistered was part of the flame area.
The great force of the explosion was
manifested in all parts of both mines.
The witness did not venture an opin-
ion as to the cause of the destruction
of flame at No. 6. He did not concede
that there was flame in all parts of
mine No. s.
X. v. Hesse Sworn.
H. v. Hesse was the next witness.
He is general superintendent of the
Consolidation Coal Company. Prior
to his appointment to this once. he
was chief engineer of the Fairmont
Coal Company. The two companies
are allied companies. He has examIn-
ed these mines since the explosion
but his examination was not sufficient
for the witness in his judgment to ven
ture an opinion. He was unable to de
termine the cause OF the explosion be,
cause he could not find the initiatory
point. On 2 right list South there was
place that looked as this might be
the starting point. At rooms Fl and
% there was powder explosion prob
ably from an open can of powder. The
explosion of the powder itself was not
suficIent to damage the mines to tho
extent that they were without the aid
of other elements. These elements
were perhaps gas or coal dust. Thu
evidence of heat here was very great,
coke was found. He found coke on the
pavement of the mine. 1t has been
considered safe practice to take
black powder into a coal mine. He
did not know whether there would
have been an explosion OF the mine
or not had the powder not have gone
on. The powder exploding caused gas
to be distilled from the solid rib. He
was In every working part of the mine
aud some places were visited more
than one time. He examined the maia
heading of No. 8. left Q north, sec
ond right first south and the slope
Of No. 6s he visited several times. The
Tame area were not continuous but
some areas were isolated. The pow
der cans on 2 right first south wers
the ordinary I'VE pound cans. The