Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	23rd November 1902
Colliery:	Littletown
Cause:	(See description below)
Lives Lost:	1

No. 423 on the list occurred at Littletown Colliery, belonging to the Lambton Collieries, Ltd., on November 23rd, and caused the death of a foreman fitter on December 11th. This accident occurred about 8 o'clock on the morning of November 23rd, when a blank flange was being taken off at the end of a range of steam pipes.

At this colliery there are two sets of boilers, one working at 80 lbs. pressure per square inch and the other at 35 lbs., and up till about the date of the accident there had been no connection between them, but it having been decided to take steam from the high pressure boilers to those working at the lower pressure, through a reducing valve, it was necessary to take off a blank flange at the end of the range from the high pressure boilers so as to couple the pipe to the reducing valve.

The steam was turned off at 7 o'clock, and, after waiting an hour, deceased, the foreman blacksmith and a fitter commenced the work. There were eight bolts in the flange, and the fitter took all the nuts off and then eased the piece of iron forming the blank flange, when it blew off, and about three or four gallons of hot water and a puff of steam in the pipe rushed out and scalded deceased, who was standing with his back to the pipe at the time.

He was not thought at first to be very seriously injured, but he died on December 11th from pneumonia, the result of the scalds.

Deceased was a man of good experience, and had to within a month or so of the accident been the engineer for several years at two neighbouring collieries belonging to the same firm. He had been suffering for some time from ill-health, and this was the cause of his resigning the engineer's appointment and taking up that of foreman fitter.

He was a good practical man, and in all his work considered the well-being and safety of the men employed under him. I much regret that he met his death in the way he did.

The accident was one for which no one could be blamed ; but I think in taking off blank flanges instead of taking off all the nuts at once, as was done in this case, it is safer to leave a couple in, screwed back and eased a little, so as to prevent the flange being blown off and the condensed steam rushing out all at once.

Source:

1902 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1590)

	Burnett, John, aged 41, Foreman Fitter, a blank flange was being taken off a range of steam pipes ; after closing the main valve and waiting an hour and a half a fitter unscrewed all the bolts and then eased the blank flange ; some condensed steam escaped and scalded his legs. Died December 11th
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