Coombs Wood Colliery fire, 1929

Early on 18 March 1929 a brattice-cloth ventilation sheet caught fire across the Manor Road at Coombs Wood Colliery, Halesowen, and cut off nine men in the South West Bottom Coal district. One of them, Jabez Edwards, crawled out past the flames; the other eight, who believed they had only to wait for rescue, died of carbon monoxide.

Cause

The 'damp sheet', several layers of brattice cloth impregnated with an inflammable tarry compound that turned the air into the district, was set alight, in the inspector's view by a naked candle carried past it by the men going in between 7 and 7.15 a.m., or by a glowing cigarette. Naked lights were in general use and smoking was not prohibited in the mine.

What happened

Coombs Wood worked the Thick Coal at 290 yards, with about 380 men below ground. The South West Bottom Coal district, a quarter of a mile from the shafts, was ventilated by a shunt off the Manor Road, the air being turned into it by a heavy sheet hung across the road. At about 6.15 that morning the fireman, Harry Jones, inspected the district with John Westwood and found nothing amiss. Between 7 and 7.10 he passed nine men in to their work; minutes later, as he spoke to another workman at the turn into the Manor Road, he heard a shout that the sheet was 'afire'. Within five minutes it was well alight and the road impassable. Jones and three others tried to pull it down and smother the fire with dirt, but were beaten back by heat and smoke, and Jones was badly burned on one arm.

Beyond the fire the nine men gathered at a crossgate. Two tried to get out by the intake and were driven back by smoke. Jabez Edwards urged the others to make a dash for it; they thought the air 'pretty fair', with candles and a safety lamp still burning brightly, and stayed. Edwards went alone, pushed aside four empty tubs blocking the road and crawled on hands and knees past the fire with his cap in his mouth, coming out at about 8 a.m., by which time the sheet had burned away. The other eight died where they sat or in a belated attempt to escape.

Rescue & recovery

Archer Cartwright, an official, reached the fire at 7.35 a.m. and men tried to fight it with buckets of water from the stables and a brattice cloth to drive back the smoke. The morning was foggy, the telephone to the rescue station at Dudley could not be raised, and the manager, F. Perrins, drove there for the apparatus; the first rescue team arrived at 9.25 a.m. and was forced back by heat. The fire brigade's hoses were ready when a fall of roof put the fire out, and the bodies were recovered in the afternoon.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquiry was conducted by F. H. Wynne, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines, at the Police Court, Halesowen, on 24 to 26 April 1929, and reported to the Secretary for Mines on 15 July. He found that the sheet was fired by a candle or a cigarette, noted how easily frayed, tar-impregnated cloth could catch, and judged that all eight might have escaped as Edwards did had they realised the danger; none of them had thought of the 800-yard return airway. The manager was criticised for leaving the pit to fetch the apparatus, but the inspector held that he had acted rightly.

Recorded claims

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

• On 18 March 1929 eight men died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a fire underground at Coombs Wood Colliery, Halesowen. ^1,2
• The fire began at a brattice-cloth 'damp sheet' across the Manor Road, probably set alight by a candle carried past it or a dropped cigarette. ^1,2
• Of the nine men beyond the fire, Jabez Edwards alone escaped, crawling past it with his cap in his mouth. ²
• The inquiry was held at the Police Court, Halesowen, on 24 to 26 April 1929 by F. H. Wynne, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines. ^2,3
• The first rescue brigade reached the fire at 9.25 a.m., nearly two hours after help was asked for, delayed by thick fog. ²

Related terminology

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

• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “The 'damp sheet', several layers of brattice cloth impregnated with an inflammable tarry compound that turned the…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inquiry was conducted by F. H. Wynne, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines, at the Police Court, Halesowen, on 24 to…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inquiry was conducted by F. H. Wynne, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines, at the Police Court, Halesowen, on 24 to 26 April 1929, and…”
• Rescue Brigade (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…the manager, F. Perrins, drove there for the apparatus; the first rescue team arrived at 9.25 a.m. and was forced back by heat. The fire brigade's…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…the nine men gathered at a crossgate. Two tried to get out by the intake and were driven back by smoke. Jabez Edwards urged the others to…”

Sources

1. (primary) Coombs Wood Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Coombs Wood Colliery Fire, Halesowen, 1929 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Coombs Wood Colliery newspaper article index (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026