COAL MINE ON FIRE. THE MILLERTON OUTBREAK

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 51, 2 March 1909, Page 7

COAL MINE ON FIRE. THE MILLERTON OUTBREAK

DISCOVERED ON SUNDAY. SCARCITY OF WATER. {BT TELEGRAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WESTPORT, Ist March. A correspondent of the Westport paper sends the following account of the fire at the Westport Coal Company's mine at Millerton. Early on Sunday morning a fireman coming through the mine met smoke in the drive. Returning outside he reported it to a Mr. Davidson, who immediately went inside to investigate, and found a fire raging in the section known as "Old East." Messrs. J. Dixon and D. Dunn, superintendent and mine engineer of the Westport Coal Company respectively, were immediately cojnmunicated with, and arrived on the scene with all possible despatch. A gang of men set to work at once to try and reach the seat of the fire, but, unfortunately, the fire had gained such a hold that all efforts were in vain. Hessrs. Dixon, Dunn, and M'Cormick stood by until it was plain that the seat of the fire could not be reached, and the only hope left was to stop up all entrances to the mine, wall up the water drainage drive and, if possible flood the mine. Unfortunately water is scarce, and, unless rain comes soon it is not impossible that the fire ■ may travel above the available water level and niuko it a difficult problem to save the mine. To-day the Mine Creek power-house shut down, the fan not being required any longer, seeing that the intakes are all stopped up. The only work now going on is at the near end of the new drive going through to Mine Creek, which, it is computed, will take some ten to twelve months to com. plete. "Looking out while writing this, 1 ' states the correspondent, "I can see a dray load of boxes and portmanteaux making off down the hill. It is going to be very hard for the people left here, and it is to be hoped for the sake of all concerned that the fire may not spread far enough to become unmanageable. The oiigin of the fire is one ot thosu things that can only be surmised. Several theories have been advanced as to the cause, but nothing definite is known yet, and may never be known. Several visiting directors of the Westport Coal Company are up here, and it must.be a trying time for them to see their property in such a state, seeing that lately things have been going very smoothly, and a fine sample of marketable coal has been coming out of the mine. I believe that the Mine Creek rope was i parted, showing that the fire must be very fierce." OPERATIONS MAY BE RESUMED IN A MONTH. It is now stated thai the company expects to resume operations at the Millerton mine in about a month's time.