Seaham Colliery

Miscellaneous Notes and Incidents

There were two serious fires upon the surface at coal mines. The first one occurred on the pitbank at No. 3 shaft of Seaham Colliery, Co. Durham. Before it could be extinguished both cages and the guide ropes and one of the winding ropes fell to the bottom of the pit.

The shaft was used as an upcast. Fortunately, the fan drift was not interfered with, and as soon as the air lock upon the pitbank was restored the ventilation proceeded as usual. At the time the fire took place there was no one about the pitbank and the pit had not drawn coals that day. No one had been near the shaft top for several hours. The surface was lighted by electricity and it was proved that the current had been left on upon this particular circuit. There seems little doubt that a short had developed upon part of a somewhat imperfect installation, which ultimately set fire to dry timber.

Source: 1917 Mines Inspectors Report