Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1911-06-22
NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION
ASSOCIATION TELLS The
CAUSE and REMEDY.
Mining Engineers Conclude That mex
pensive Fire Fighting Appliances,
Proper Regulations and Fire Drills
May Minimize Fires and Make Great
Savings in Loss of Life and Property.


of mine fires and lack of adequate
fire protection have resulted in the loss
of hundreds of lives and the destruc-
ton of millions of dollars worth of |
property in the last few years, accord
ing to a statement made at the recent
annual meeting of the National Fire
Protection association by Herbert M.
Wilson, chief engineer of the Federal
Bureau of Mines. Mr.. Wilson went
farther and declared that two of the
most serious disasters in coal mines in
the last two years, one at Cherry, ILL.,,
in which 262 lives were lost, and the
other at the Pancoast mine, near Scran-
ton, Pa, in which seventy-four lives
were lost, originated from trivial
causes and ought to have been quickly
extinguished without the sacrifice Of
human life.
Cherry Mine Disaster.
"The contact of several bales of
hay with blazing torch or an open
miner IS lamp said Mr.. Wilson,
"caused the Cherry mine disaster with
its great loss of life and total cost
of one million dollars, of which $780,
600 a day was spent in direct fire fight
ing for several days.
Pancoast Mine Horror.
1.-THE fire in the Pancoast mine
killed seventy-four miners, left forty
five widows and 1877 dependent orphans.
mn l.. cfn in
an underground room presumably from
some oil-soaked waste. The fre/was not
thought serious until it had been burn
ing two hours. This delay was, in
large measure, responsible for the great
loss of life.
Other Mine Fires.
"Besides the loss of life, fires have
cost much in money. At Deadwood,
S. D., 100000 has been spent in fight
ing a fire in a metal mine. Today fires
are raging in coal and metal mines In
various parts of the country. Some OF
them have gotten beyond control, and
have been burning for many years, de-
vouring hundreds of thousands of tons
of coal and miles of mine galleries.
One mine fire near Carbondale, Pa, has
burned out such a vast area of anthra-
cite coal in the last ten years as to re-
suit in subsistence of the surface and
destruction of surface property. Near
Summit Hill, Pa, fire which has been
burning fifty-one years is estimated to
have destroyed $25,ooO,0o0 worth of
coal. Near Jobs, Ohio, tract of coal
valued at several million dollars has
been burning since 1884. In some of
the deeper metal mines at Butte, Mont,
fires have bene burning in the old mine
timbers since 1889. In the Comstock
vein in Nevada, thousands of feet of
tunnels which had been opened and tim
bered at great expense are being burned
out.
Fire Fighting Appliances.
"The mining engineers of the Blu
reau of Mines have made a careful
study of fires in mines, and have
reached the conclusion that the intro
duction of comparatively inexpensive
fre-fghting appliances, the adoption OF
proper regulations and the institution
of a reasonable system of fire drills
may minimize fires and confne Others
to a brief period of time with little
damage to life and property. The en-
gineers of this bureau have had mucl
success in combating mine fires through
the use of the oxygen helmet. This II
an apparatus that entirely protects the
head, and through which air is fur
oil b,,c hlinn nh,
wearer to explore the vicinity of fir
under conditions of smoke and gas tina
would render his approach otherwise
impossible. By the use of such an ap
paratus number of fires have beef
promptly extinguished which woul'
doubtless have spread and perhaps ex
tended beyond control.
Should Analyze Gases.
"Chemistry, through the quick analy
sis of gases at frequent intervals in tn
neighborhood of the fire, has proven
most useful adjunct in fighting fires
1t seems almost unnecessary to cal
attention to the necessity of providin
at each mine ample storage of waite
properly conveyed in protected pipe
to possible danger points, the desira
bility of using larger amounts of fire
proof material in place of wooden min
timbering or wooden doors, the prope
disposal of waste, ire-proof man-way
and air shafts and the use of fre-proo
material as far as possible in all SUI
face structures within so to 100 feet o
the main opening of the mine"