MineArchiveHighhouse Colliery pit-head fire, 1908
On a night in July 1908 a fire broke out in the engine house at Highhouse Colliery, near Auchinleck in Ayrshire, and spread to the pithead frame while eighty-four men were underground; all were brought out safely.
| Date | July 1908 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Highhouse Colliery |
| Region | East Ayrshire |
| Primary type | Fire |
| Associated types | Rescue |
| Fatalities | 0 (No lives were lost; all eighty-four men underground were brought to the surface.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
A fire that began in the engine house about eight o'clock at night and spread rapidly to the pithead frame, destroying the cages.
What happened
Eighty-four men were working the night shift when the fire took hold and spread to the headframe, destroying the cages. The fans supplying the workings were stopped so the downcast draught would not carry smoke and heat to the men below, and once the flames were got under, the air shaft being still largely intact, a temporary haulage of a winch, wire rope and a pit sinker's kettle was rigged. Four men, among them the pit sinkers Archibald Irvine and James Muir, went down first in the kettle, and the entombed men were wound up three at a time by six men working the winch handles, until all were brought out safe and sound by the following morning; about two hundred men were idled. RailScot records that the fire required extensive rebuilding, with a new headframe of Dorman Long metalwork.
Sources
- (secondary) Accidents 1901-1914 (Ayrshire) — Scottish Mining Website
- (secondary) RAILSCOT | Highhouse Colliery — RailScot
Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026