The Fire At The Snaefell Lead Mine

Dr. C. le Neve Foster, one of her Majesty's inspectors of mines, and Mr. A. E. Miller have furnished the Home Secretary with reports upon the circumstances attending the underground fire which occurred at the Snaefell Lead Mine, Isle of Man, on May 10, 1897, and by which 20 lives were lost. The mine, Dr. Foster points out, can scarcely be said to have a good record. He has had to make complaints about the ventilation upon various occasions, though he admits that during the few days immediately preceding the accident it was in a condition complying with the present vague wording of the statute. The fire, he concludes, was caused by a lighted candle being stuck up against one of the timber supports, and that the deaths of the 20 men were due to carbon monoxide produced by the timber burning in the mine. Dr. Foster suggests, as a means of preventing outbreaks of this character, either that the timber used for supports should be rendered non-flammable — that is, not easily ignitable — or that it should be replaced by non-combustible materials such as masonry, brickwork, concrete, iron, or steel. If a fire occurred, like that at Snaefell, its consequences might be rendered less deadly by the adoption of the following remedies :— (1) Inspection previous to work ; (2) mechanical ventilation ; (3) cages for raising and lowering men ; (4) apparatus for penetrating into noxious gases ; and (5) supply of compressed oxygen. If there had been a rule prohibiting the men generally from entering the mine until after an inspection of the working places the death-roll would have been much smaller. The rescue of the sufferers and the recovery of the bodies was greatly impeded by the want of proper appliances for raising and lowering the men. The use of oxygen in restoring sufferers from carbonic oxide poisoning, Dr. Foster says, is now too well established to need any special remarks. The report closes with a tribute to the heroic conduct of Captain Kewley, resident agent, and to the pluck of the hands of rescuers and of Mr. Williams, assistant to the inspector.