NIGHTCAPS MINE DISASTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14002, 7 September 1907, Page 5

NIGHTCAPS MINE DISASTER

. THE ROYAL COMMISSION. . the mine manager cross, EXAMINED. (Fitou Our. Specul Reporter.) RIVERTON, September 6. Tho Nightcaps Royal Commission rciinnod this morning, all the commissioners (District Judgo Hascldeu and Messre 11. A. Gordon, H. J. 11. Eliott, and A. Forbes) l>cing present. ' MINE' MANAGER CROSS-EXAMINED. John Lloyd, mine manager at Nightcaps, ngain went into the witness box. Crossexamined by Mr Macalisfer, ho admitted had stated that all tho operative . 5 a ' I''"® wero under his control. Ihia sjatomcnt was correct, but sometimes •Jl Jramo was in charge. lie was present at .tho mine daily, and during the hours ho',hail (mentioned'ho waa in solo charge. He did not necessarily attend to overy dc'lail in .connection with tho mine., It. was corVcet that ho not only supervised all the operations a-Ijovo ground, but also underground tw for as he oottld do so. lie attended to all matters of imprtanco in connection , with the underground working of (.he mine. He did .not go through tho whole of,tho mine Aiily, but only the most ima'Ortar.l parts of it. If anything, were reportedl to him to havo happened out of the ordinary course of events—any finall accident,, for example,—ho proceeded lo the spot, personally. Tho firo had been heating somo three of four montlis, and was Ocrasionaliy burning into (lame for three months before Juno 20. but it did net eau?o him trouble or anxiety. He laid on piping from the fairehaft down to the sMno, of tho fire. The piping \vas taken down (lie fan shaft. The water came from a race, and went down into piping somo Go(t. (Witness indicated on tho plan the looation of tho raco and cf tho pipings.) Tho raco was conductod to tho mouth of the fan shaft, and the wafer could bo turned off there or turned on. Difficulties with 'tiie Water Supplt. On the night of Juno 20—or, rather, (he early hours of Juno 21—when tho firo broke Out, (here was a difficulty in getting water turned on. ,W«m tho water was not required to enter'tho piping- down tho shaft it continued down..the race. If the wafer were turmjd off below ground it roinaincd in t'no pipes. Tha difficulty in getting, tho wafer .turned on on. tho night of tho firo was, duo to tho smoke. It was. not exactly the caeo that (ho taps were put in mich a* position tlliit !; in the event of a lire breaking; out tho water conld not turned on because tho .taps could not bo reached. It-was nearer to turn off the water at the mouth, of the fan shaft. Both taps wove not turned off'at'tlio same time. ■ The tap turned off was the'one marked'"E" on the plan. When the firo broko out they could not get to this tap to turn it on. Had they Wen able to get tho water on at tho'first, attempt thoy' might have been able to; master tho lire. v He did not admit that tho water outfit not to bo brought in by the out-take.or air return. Tho*smoko lie had .mentioned was. caused by tho firo increasing as moro' ventilation was let into tho hiine.. The out-take could' not take all tho smoke',. Tho ttfo doors along tho course of,the piping shut inward, and theso forced open, ana so lot in the smoke, .which made it. irnpossiblo to get to •the" tap. The quickcflt way to- got to tho -tap from the fire was along, tho lino of piping in tho air-return; but;;they seldom went'that way 10-turn .it on. - < ■ ... ThE'UBES OF.'STOrPIKQS.

Besides using water, they- jmt in. stoppings to'masfer f ho.'lire/ Ho had stated at th'w inquiry that'the. firo was .-sealed, up all along tho lino, with stoppings before Juno ' 21/! and ■ thrs; statement jvos' correct. Ho did not put in stoppings in that part ofthe inino uncoiihecjod-wjth the fire oil June 20, but was preparing-- to put in stoppings f to. block oil the lire.- (Witness -pointed out on, the map' whore, prior to Juno 20," the firo was-seaJed'up' all albiig t-lie line;) Doublo; stoppings woro . used along tho south sido of the fire. Theio were not the' stoppings that wore burned out. 'flic stoppings in front of the gob were burned. (Tho-position of tho pipings, laps, and stoppings was indicated by witness on. tho plan.) Tho stoppings hliat wore burned were -tho skeleton stoppings he had'previously referred to, and which were put up about, a fortnight before Juno 21. This wjs not tho first attemptmade' to stop'the fire, wWcH. had .beep; hmnihg- three, months. Tliey wore' oiily put up'temporarily to cut the oir, off tlie fire. Boards had been, pus tip t'o- tako tho air off any place that, was boated.. Ho used the words " temporary stoppings" because whon they were'coming out with the coal whore the stoppings had boon oreetod tlioy would be pulled down again, so that tho thnbor could be re-used. When ho erected the temporary stoppings his intention was not to put pcrnmnont stoppings thoro later-on. Tliey were torn- . porarj; in the senk that they woro t-liero only just so long ais they were -required; It was not at nil the case that,-' as it turned out, he ought to havo had permanent stop-pings-there. 'Die dangerous condition of tho mine was partly brought'about through the lire bursting through these temporary stoppings. Had there been permanent stoppings thore—doublo wooden stopr.'ings— that .would not-have averted tho .disaster. It. was too near the fire. Stoppings of baick would not havo .averted the ,disaster cither ns the lire would have burned round in that ■■particular place. Tho double stoppings in the mine wero ereoted with-props about Bin fjirongh, sunk in the floor and cut up in tho roof. They woro then boarded on each-side, with ashes between the boards, wliioli' wero lSin x lin.' There -was, towards the -last, no difference between these stoppings and the temporary stoppings. The stoppings wero put up single at. first, and for that, reason they were described Irv the word "skeleton." One was not quite complete, as two 6i" Uirbo boards were not put up 011 tho outer side, In addition to put--ting ' in ashes between the boards- tlieymigljt havo ten clayed, but he was not sure. Thoy wero tight, all round tho tops and ends, but ho couM not say for certain whether thoy hnd been washed over with clay.Temporary and Pebmanent Srorrixos. The -reason why one was left • unfinished was owing to its temporary character. It would not bo connect to say that all tho stoppings Were tomporary in tho senso that they. worc ; 'erccte(t for only such time as thoy wero required. . A permanent stopping. was made as substantially as possible. A temporary stopping tliey were not eo particular about. Thoro wero various distances between the stoppings and the fire, the. shortest distance boing probably 12ft. Tho temporary stoppings were romoved from the firo by sft. When tho firo becamo serious, 011 Juno 20, 110 did not think it would havo made any diffcrenco had theso been brick stoppings. The two wooden stoppings wero burning wlien ho wis in tho mine on the Friday morning at 4.30 ; ' Tho noxious gases accumulating behind tho stoppings would cscapo through tho airway. Hod tho stoppings been built subHaaiially of brick the uamo gases would not havo been given off, but tho gaaes would havo escaped all tho 6ame. Tho men wore taking out coal from the pillars and head coal at tho back of the firo lip till between 10 nnd 11 on tho morning of Juno 20, whon witness told Frame to withdraw tho mert 011 account of the & inoreaso of tho fire. He ordered Frame to put ,i:i double stoppings at 8 o'clock on tho -Thursday morning. Six men, under William Duncan, wero put on to do this, ySotwecn 8 and 10 o'clock (ho men won) filling up loose coal, and. being 011 ton.nsge, they djd aot want to Knock off work; but this did not mako much difference, a.i they wero preparing for tho stoppings all tho time.' When tiih Fibe Broke Out,

Wilne?; was present at the scat of the firo at 8 o'clock on the Thursday morning, end remained there for probably Ihrccquarters of an hcur—ths.t would' bo till a quarter to 0. Ho thon went round 6ome of the oilier workings, returning to the place alwut 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It'was about 11 o'clock when lie left- the 'mine, in tlio morning. Ho went, straight to the tclophono. 110 was employed from tlien ou till 4 o'clock in (ho blacksmith's f-liop: the open cast, and generally about the works. Jii6 dinner was brought* to him on the works by his eldest daughter, and ho )>arlook of it in thoblackeiuith'sfihop. Ho ita,6 in the .Mono drive about 2 o'clock, lie was not in tho hotel at nil that afternoon. About 20 minutes to 4 o'clock he wont into the place where he hail ordered stoppings to be put up. Tho men had by this time cut trenches out in tho bottom njid erected some of tho props roady for nailing up tlio boards. lie changed tho shift. . About oijjht men had been working under Duncan up till 4 o'clock. Archibald Dixon and about six men then orvnie on. Witnees told Dixon to go on with tho stoppings as fast as ho oould. He (witness) canto out about 4.20, and the next tinie that ho wont into the mine was nt 4.20 a.m. on Friday. He wa6, met at the station ot 3.20 that morning, and spent tbc intervening hour in calling up men to assist Archibald Dixon. Ho gave 110 orders about tlio 12 o'clock shift beforo leo-ving at 4.20. At 8 o'clock on Thursday morning ho fold Frame not to stop until finufad Deputy Jajncs

Somorvillo would come on at midnight, and there were sufficient men to make a fullshift coming pp. Plenty of men were availablo had Mf-'Fra.nie carried out his orders. Somorvillo and Brazier went on at 12 o'clock.

. Lloyd's Instmjctioxs to Frame. In answer lo questions put by tho Chairman (lie Witness stated that tho men whom lie expected to go on duty at night were _ the men who had been on tho morning oliift. Ho did not give Frame positive instructions to put a shift on on Friday night. The orders 'ho gavo Frame on Thursday jnorjiing were that, he expected, him to finish the stoppings before knockinmoff. Ho did not make an' entry ill any oT (ho books of such instructions to Frame. There was not an entry in any book prior to June 27 concerning any, operations to stop the (ire. Ho left themine of the Thuhsduy afternoon at 4.20, and went to Carson's about. 5.30. staying there until about' a quarter to 6, when he went home. Ho returned to Carson's about 8 o'clock. He was in his office about irain lime. Ho stayed at Carson's until about 3 o'clock on June 21, when ho loft to go homo,, but was met at the stable by Archibald Dixon, who said lo htm, "I am just, going for Frame; the fire is burning out one of the slopping.?." 110 •■aid lie had not come from the mine for tho purpose of getting some hose; and added that Somorvillo and Brazier were in tho mine, and more men were wanted. Witness told him that ho would call fresh men and send them in at oncc.

Tiib Manages as Messenger. He first called Carson, and told him to hurry into (he mine to (lie seat of the firo as fast as ho could. Then he called Georgo M'Lcod, John Lysught, and Patrick Walsh, and sent a messenger. after I'ercival Quested. 1-Ie was engaged in doing this for probably Ihrec-qjuarters of an hour. Two of tlio men were living at a distanco of between a quarter of a mile and half a mile. The distanco from Carson's to tlio stable, where witnecs met Dixon, would bo about eight chains. M'Lcod lived about 12 chains distant from Carson's, .-ind Lysaght antl Walsh lived close together, about 14 chains from .M'Lood's house. Ho sent William Brazier, whom ho met at the „blacksmith's shop, for Quested. It wxs a c.'wr. nice light night. His reason for. personally calling theso men instead of sending someone else for them was that ho had no one lo 6cnd at the time, and he knew that to get tho hose on tho firo as quickly as possible would be the best thing jo do. He thouglit (hat ho could get tho me'n togelhcr before anyone else could get dressed. The ' Chairman: But you took threequarters of all hour. Tho Chairman asked whether witness thought it- was hie duty, as manager of the mine, on receipt of such information as thai, which' ho received from Dixon, to go round to the men's houses calling tho men rather than make his way immediately to the seat of danger? Witness replied that' probably it would havo been bettor, had ho taken the latter course. Tho actual timo at which ho entered the mine 'was, as near as lie could say, 11.20, and lie went in alone, taking tho .straight main road. The first porson6 ho saw in tlio mino were Brazier and Lysaght.' Ho did . not send Brazier for Qucstod until after he met the former in the mine. lie met Lysaght and Brazier about half-way between the cngino station and the seat of the 'fire. They informed hitn tlfat they wore going out for the purpose of turning on the wat-sr, and that Dixon had the hose on already. Ho understood that' they wore, going to turn tho water on at the top of the fan shaft, which was tho .nearest- place. They did not .say anything to him about tho (ire itself. After leaving them ho Went straight on to the scat of the fire.' There ho saw Wm. Carson, Archibald Dixon, Geo. .M'Lcod, and Jas. Somervillc. These men wero waiting for the wa(cr to bo turned on. ■ Ho .waited with them for half an hour, but. the water did not come. Somerville and witnesi wont hack (o'sce if anything had dropped on the ' hosing. Thoy wont hack for probably two chains, and subsequently Somervilfe told him there was nothing wrong. During the time ho was wailing for the water witness did not give any instructions. Tho lights' in use wore naked lights. ' lie remarked to Dixon: " What, has bcromo' of 'Somervillc, as he is not. back." Dixon wont up.the heading where witness thought Sbmcr'ville had gono for eight or' ton yards, when tho black-damp put his light out. They then went to the scat of tlio fire, ,where Carson was at work, and told liim to come out. Carson was not overcome. . Witness then tried to go '"Up the heading to see if •Soinerville had fallen. He went up as far as Dixon had.gone, but his light also wont out. Dixon, Carson', and witness thon went, to the engino station. Witness said: "We will go back again to tho heading and look for Soinerville." They all three tried the heading aeain, but could not find SomorviJle. Then they went out to the open cast, and the.v found Somorvillo -there, also Geo. M'Lcod, Wm. Brazier, and Lysaght. , These men informed him that they had all been trying fo turn on tho water cock. CjrtriXG the Aip. Supply off the Fire. Witness next, drow' tho men from the open cast' and took them down tho open cast incline into the mine. Ho told Dixon to take the men in and cut (.he air off the firo, •but. did not say 'by what • means. Tlio ordinary way was by dropping somo brattice cloths and -lifting others., i The Chairman:' I understand you to say that you ordered these men to go into the mine where your lights had heen extinguished by black-damp and endea\w to stop the air courses by means• of brattico clothe? . Witness: Yes.Where tho black-damp was would not interfere with tho men in any way, as it was in the air-course coming from the fire. Continuing,- witness said tlie men could alter the course of the air without going off the' main road. Ho gave them no' material. Ho thought there was plenty in tho mine. Witness went awav with Carson to tho blacksmith's shop (o interview the fitter. lli6 object was to get fittings-to fit on a pump to put water on the fire. He down in tho blacksmith's shop and remained there until he had seen tho fitter. When Welsh and Carson took the .brattice into the mine witness followed them. The Fire of 1903.

The fire of four years ago started at tlie engine shaft. (Witness indicated 011 tho plan tho course taken by this firo.) The fire -was sealed up for six weeks, and tho stoppings were then opened. It- took nine months to put the fire out, and they had been working with the hosc3 during Iho wholo of that -time,' three or four nozzles boing used. This firo started at the end of Ma-roh, 1903. ■ In March, 1904, there woro signs of firo at the top end of tho gob. Witness did not sco any fire there, but there wero black-damp and heat. The gob in 1901 was not so large as was now shown on tho plan. The differenoc in tho gob showed where the pillars had been drawn and tho cover had come down. Tho cover was shallow (about 60ft) there. Threo stoppings that wore put in at the beginning of 1904 consisted of doublo boards, with 2ft of ashes in between tiiem. Those stoppings would not be all destroyed when the cover fell in, as fhev could' -sometimes pull out the boards and use them over again. To Mr Hanlon: Wha tbe meant was that Ihev could sometimes savo the material. Tho effectiveness of tho stopping as such was destroyed. Tho Chairman: Can you say with any certainly that this fire of 1903, which gave eigns of existcnoe in 1904, was thoroughly extinguished in 1907?— I don't think that the old firo waa extinguished, but it showed no signs when I was taking down tho top ooal for three weeks or a month.

Tho Chairman: As you were drawing tho pillars you were gradually putting a wider sjwco between the workings of tho sfcat of tho said fire?— Yes.

Tlio Chairman: Would this space bo tightly packed with the alluvial?—l had a pump at. tho 6urEace to sluice earth and loose sand inlo the gob to mako it tight and keep the air off, so that it would not burn.

To Mr Macalieter: The plan 'produced was prepared hy Joseph Frame, the undervicwor. Ho believed that the handwriting on tlio plan was Frame's. The two temporary stoppings were described as singlebcarrt stoppings. Tho correct description was double stoppings. In describing them earlier in his ovidonco'as skeleton stoppings ho did so because Ihey were put. up that way at first. ' When ho said that thoy wcro singlo he had forgotten that they had been double. Ho litid been mistaken, as had also Mr Frame. These stoppings had now been destroyed, and it was impossible to ascertain whether they had been single or double. If Mr Frame swore now that they were single witness wofdd not bo prepared to contradict liini. The single stoppings at the particular place would havo answered tho same as the double. Their object was to cut off the air from the fire. Ho did not think Sir Green saw these stoppings', whioh were put mi temporarily about a fortnight beforo tho disaster. Witness could not say when Mr Green last examined tlio 6Mt of fire. In tlio month of April tlio firo was not blocked off. Tho stoppings which Mr Green saw on the occasion of his visit- on April 25 wcro those on tho south side of tlio gob, put in to keep tho air off tho fire, not to nrevont tlio noxious gases from coming out .If

no black-damp escaped the fire would disappear. On April 25 the seat of tho fire was not cut off or isolated from the rest of tho workings. If Mr Green had stated in hie report on (ho visit of April 25 that the firo was well in hand and isolated by stoppings that was correct. Ho had just told the court that the firo was not out oh" or isolated. Kem'i.vg Back Noxious Gases.

ill' Groin's statement that the purpose of tho stoppings was to keep back the gases and prevent them from escaping was correct. They wero to keep the black-damp in and to keep the air off. They had tried to choke the lire by pouring water upon it. His instructions to the deputies and underviewer wero that whenever they saw ft fire to place tho large-it nozzles on tho hose and to pour on all tho water that they conld. The gob was open to several heading?, and tho men would get as near tho fire as possible. Tho firo wae in the gob. The reason why at tho-last crisis ho acted as messenger instead of directing operations himself was that ho had two experienced deputies there. It was true that his practice was to attend to anything of importance personally. Tn the present caso ho did not at tho iime think it necessary. He could not Gee now that there was any supremo necessity for his own personal guidance on that occasion. He could not do more than the deputies!' He could not toll) at t.hc moment of the occurrence that life bursting out of these smouldering fires on Juno 20 and 21 was a most important crisis in the history of the Nightcaps coal mijic. The crisis was one where the duly could be properly relegated to his deputies. Between tho hours of 6 and 7 on Friday morning be went to fhe brewery for a keg of beer. This was whilst ho was waiting for tho engineer. It was a two-gallon keg, and was taken in a box into tho mine by Walsh and Carson along with brattice cloth. The beer was brought by Carson and witness, Carson carrying it from the brewery to tho blacksmith's shop. Witness did not consume any beer at the brewery. His reason for going over to (he brewery was that the brewer would not havo given the keg lo anyone except it were explained what it was wanted for. Ho tcld tho brewer that the men in tho mine had sent out for something to drink, and as there was nothing but water there ho had- qomo for beer. .

Mr Macalista: It comes to this, then, that, when the firo breaks out in the mine and the crisis arrives the manager is sleeping in the kitchen of one of his men's IIOUSC6, and when t.lio men arc fighting the/ firo Die manager dq«s the duties of a' messenger liny, and alsoVuns to the brfiwery for a kc? of beer. ' Is not that. absolutely correct?— Yes, in one way it is correct to say that.

At 4.45 -p.m. (ho court adjourned until to-morrow at. 10.30 a.m.