Bwllfa Colliery Fire (1867)

A ventilation-system fire at Bwllfa Colliery filled an underground drift with smoke during a shift change on 27 December 1867, killing five of the eleven men working there.

Cause

A wire rope being lowered down the shaft in a wooden box caught fire from furnace sparks, and the fire spread to the ventilation air tube itself; friction from the rope was suspected as a possible ignition source, though the exact cause was never conclusively established.

What happened

The fire broke out in the ventilation system while eleven men were working in a drift during a shift change. Smoke from the burning air tubes filled the heading and compromised the air supply. Volunteers rescued seven miners in a weakened state, one of whom later died of his injuries; four more were found dead in the heading itself, bringing the total to five.

Rescue & recovery

Seven men were rescued from the smoke-filled heading by volunteers, though in a weakened state; one subsequently died.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The exact ignition source was never conclusively established, though friction from a wire rope being lowered past the burning air tube was suspected. (uncertain)
• A second source (welshcoalmines.co.uk) names the five victims slightly differently -- Benjamin Lloyd (46), Thomas Wood (35), Benjamin Thomas (57), Thomas Owen (24) and John Daniel (50) -- against the NMRS record's Richard Lloyd (44), Thomas Wood (28), Thomas Howell (28), Benjamin Thomas (55) and John Daniel (50); both are kept on record rather than silently reconciled. (disputed)

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “A ventilation-system fire at Bwllfa Colliery filled an underground drift with smoke during a shift change on 27…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A ventilation-system fire at Bwllfa Colliery filled an underground drift with smoke during a shift change on 27 December 1867, killing five…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “A wire rope being lowered down the shaft in a wooden box caught fire from furnace sparks, and the fire spread…”

Sources

1. (primary) Bwllfa Colliery Underground Fire - Aberdare - 1867 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Bwllfa Colliery (Welsh Coal Mines) — welshcoalmines.co.uk

Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026