HOMEPAGE PERSONAL PROFILE HISTORICAL REVIEW HOWEBRIDGE MRS BOOTHSTOWN MRS PURPOSE OF A MRS MOBILE WINDING ENGINE AMPUTATION KIT OFFICERS AND STAFF SELECTION OF RESCUEMEN BREATHING APP PRIME FEATURES OF BA GENERAL CONDUCT OXYGEN RESUSCITATORS HEAT AND HUMIDITY RESCUE COMMS CANARIES AND LAMPS SELF RESCUERS SEFA BREATHING APPARATUS PROTO BREATHING APPARATUS AERORLOX BREATHING APPARATUS SALVUS BREATHING APPARATUS SAVOX BREATHING APPARATUS MINOX BREATHING APPARATUS ANTIPOYS TUBE APPARATUS

The Lancashire Mines Rescue Service HISTORICAL REVIEW. It is known that when the Romans colonised Britain in 45AD, a small quantity of coal was ocasionally used for fuel, but the source of this was restricted to surface outcrops and where the coal was washed up by the sea. Although the Romans were skilful miners, having exploited minerals such as lead, copper and tin, they didn’t go to any trouble to reach coal at depth. In fact, long after the Romans left Britain in the 5th. Century AD, the potential for coal as a fuel was largely disregarded. As late as 1086, when the Domesday Book was compiled there were no references to coal mining, though there were numerous documented sites relating to lead mining and iron ore extraction in the Realm. Large areas of Britain were covered by dense forests, so there was an abundance of timber and peat for the making of fires. Gradually, over the centuries, timber started to be reserved for building work and this had serious repercussions on the use of coal. The first excavations in this Country were called “Bell Pits” because of the bell shaped cavities that were formed during the extraction process from the surface and it is unlikely, that the coal produced in this way was ever used very far from the immediate locality. It was necessary to wait for improvements in the rivers, canals, roads and later, the railways, to reach a wider market. By the early 18th. Century, partnerships were formed between different Owners; more money was invested and the mining enterprises became larger and shafts were sunk deeper. The demand for coal was rising. The “Industrial Revolution” had begun and it was necessary for the Coal Industry to respond to this increased demand, by improving drainage and ventilation below ground and the transport of the coal, after it had been brought up to the surface. The solutions which the mining industry found to these problems were to have a far reaching impact on the pace of the economic and industrial change in Britain and in turn, upon the whole pattern of British society. By the year 1850 it is fair to say that due to the utilization of coal, Britain was transformed from a mainly agricultural Country, to one predominantly industrial. By the middle of the 19th. Century the coal industry was booming, with thousands of collieries, of vastly varying size in production, employing hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, (although in 1842, legislation had been passed, restricting the employment of children under 10 years and all women from working underground). Shafts were sunk even deeper and the workings extended even further from the shafts. This meant that more “firedamp” gas was liberated from the seam into the mine atmosphere, causing increased problems. Firedamp is made up of more than 98% of methane, which is highly inflammable and in certain mixtures with ordinary atmospheric air, will explode. Unfortunately, during this period of maximum output, the number of deaths and serious injury to the underground work force also reached a peak. Open fires; explosions; outbursts of gas; inrushes of water and roof falls, were the main hazards. With hindsight, it seemed that some Mine Owners were more interested in accumulating profit than having due concern for the safety, health and welfare of their underground workforce and for them, the motto could easily have been regarded as “Coal At Any Price”. On the other hand, there were other Owners who were genuinely concerned but couldn’t envisage how the situation could be altered. Some of the top Mining Engineers of the day were of the opinion that no useful purpose could possibly be served by having a rescue organisation. There were no such things as breathing apparatus in the proper sense and those same mining engineers couldn't imagine how anyone could operate, no matter how protected, in the lethal mine atmospheres, during open fires and following explosions. Towards the end of the 19th. Century, more and more pressure was put on the Government, who in turn, set up a Special Commission to investigate the Coal Mining Industry. It’s Report was presented to Parliament in 1906 to be known as "The Royal Commission On Mines Report, 1906". It was a full and comprehensive ducument and many of the improvements enjoyed by the coalmining industry in the 20th. Century, resulted directly from those recommendations. The provision of a Mines Rescue Service, was one such improvement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------