Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

9th January 1939

Pit Fire Three Miles Under the Sea

Outbreak at Whitehaven

Fire broke out yesterday in the William Pit, Whitehaven, Cumberland, in an important new working three miles under the sea. The outbreak was discovered by a deputy who had gone ahead of a repair gang of 120 men. There were at the time no other workers in the pit, at which 550 men are employed.

Four rescue teams, totalling 24 men from the William and Haig pits, were summoned. Wearing respirators they went to the scene of the fire, accompanied by Mr. J. Williamson, the general manager ; Mr. T. Banks, the agent, and Mr. H. S. Stephenson, mine inspector. The fire was fought with extinguishers, sand, and stone dust, and by noon was under control. It was afterwards decided to seal the area affected as a safety measure.

The locality is a new working, which is now one of the most important in the mine. The mine is the oldest under-the-sea mine in Britain, and has produced coal for over 100 years. After being closed for two years, it was recently reopened with the aid of the Nuffield Trust.