The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1911-07-05
GUARD LIVES OF
MEN IN MINES
Expert Tells Of Failure to Ap-
preciate Seriousness Of Fire.
PROTECTION NOT ADEQUATE.

l
Loss Of Hundreds Of Lives and Do.
struetion Of Millions Of Dollars
Worth Of Property Might Have Been
Prevented.
Failure to appreciate the serious
ness of mine fires and a lack of ade-
quate fire protection have resulted in
the loss of hundreds of lives and the
destruction Of millions Of dollars
worth of property In the last few
years, according to Herbert M. Will
son, chief engineer of the federal bu-
reau of mines. Mr.. Wilson 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 Pan
coast mine, neal Scranton, Pa, In
which seventy-four lives were lost
originated from trivial causes and
ought to have been quickly extinguish-
ed without the sacrifice of human life.
1.-The contact Of several bales Of hay
with a blazing torch or an open min
er's lamp said Mr.. Wilson, ''caused
the Cherry mine disaster, with its
great loss of life and a total cost Of
81, 1000, Of which $4,000 a day was
spent in direct fire fighting for several
days.
Some Mine Fires.
1.-THE fire in the Pancoast mine killed
"a miners and left As widows and 1877
dependent orphans. This fire is known
to have started in IN underground
room presumably from some oil soak
ed waste. 1t was not thought serious
until it had been burning two hours,
and this delay was in large measure re-
sponsible for the great loss of life.
Besides the loss Of life, fires have
cost much in money. At Deadwood,
s. D., 100000 has been spent in
fighting a fire in a metal mine. Today
fires are raging in coal and metal
mines in various parts Of b country.
Some of them have got beyond con-
troll and have been burning for many
years, devouring hundreds Of thou
sands of tons Of coal and miles Of
mine galleries. One mine fire near
Carbondale, Pa, has burned out such
a vast area Of anthracite coal in the
last ten years as to result in a subsi
dence of the surface and destruction
of surface property. Near Summit Hill,
Pa, a fire which has beer burning fif-
ty-one years is estimated to have de-
stroyed 500, 0OO,O 900 worth of coal. Near
Jobs, O., a tract of coal valued at sew
eral million dollars has been burning
since 1884. In some Of the deeper
metal mines at Butte, Mont, fires have
been burning in the DID mine timbers
since 1880. In the Comstock vein, in
Nevada, thousands of feet of tunnels
which had been opened and timbered
at great expense are being burned out.
Use Of Oxygen Helmet.
1.-THE mining engineers of the bureau
of mines have made a careful study
Of fires in mines and have reached the
conclusion that the introduction Of
comparatively inexpensive fire fight
ing appliances, the adoption of proper
regulations and the institution Of a
reasonable system of fire drills may
minimize fires and confine others to a
brief period Of time with little DAM
age to life and property. The engi-
neers of this bureau have had much
success in combating mine fires by
the use of the oxygen helmet. This Is
an apparatus that entirely protects
the head and through which air is fur
nished artiicially, thus enabling the
wearer to explore the vicinity Of a fire
under conditions Of smoke and gas
that would render his approach other
wise impossible. By the use of such
an apparatus a number of fires have
been promptly extinguished which
would doubtless have spread and per-
haps extended beyond control. Chem
istry through the quick analysis of
gases at frequent intervals in the
neighborhood of the fire has proved a
most useful adjunct in fighting fires.
ut seems almost unnecessary to call
attention to the necessity of provid.
ing at each mine ample storage of wa
ter properly conveyed in protected
pipes to possible danger points, the
d%esirability of using larger amounts
of %1reproof material in place of wood
en- mine timbering or wooden doors
the proper disposal of waste, ireproo1
manways and air shafts and the use
of 1reproof material as far as posi-