Mary Colliery firedamp explosion, 1908

Late on Sunday 2 February 1908 a series of four firedamp explosions in the Mynheer seam of the Fife Coal Company's Mary Pit at Lochore killed three young men, blown down the shaft from the seam bottom, and burned five others. The inquiry found the gas had been fired by a spark from the electric motor driving the fan.

Cause

Firedamp had accumulated in the Mynheer seam while its ventilating fan stood idle over the weekend, and was ignited, the inquiry found, by a spark from the electric motor that drove the fan, started by the inspector before the men went in.

Contributing factors

The fan was stopped at weekends, leaving the seam's ventilation defective; the motor was not protected as the rules required; and the inspection was made by McGinn, a young roadsman under twenty who was not an appointed fireman and knew nothing of electric motors.

What happened

The Mary Pit, then said to be the deepest in Scotland at 333 fathoms, had begun drawing coal only about a year before. About an hour after the ten o'clock shift went down, eight men were at the Mynheer seam bottom, some twenty fathoms above the Five Feet bottom where 72 men were at work. McGinn started the motor to drive the fan, and an explosion followed, then three more. Gibson, Stein and Law, waiting at the pit bottom to signal for the cage, were blown down the shaft to the Five Feet bottom, and the shaft between the two seams was partly wrecked.

In the Five Feet seam the overman George McAndrew found Law on the cage and saw Stein and Gibson fall down the shaft. Because many of the men did not know the way, he sent John Cross to lead them out through the workings to the Aitken pit.

Rescue & recovery

The manager John Allan, the under-manager Andrew Ramsay, the overman Peter Watson and the shaftsman Thomas Whyte went down as a rescue party, brought up the burned men from the Mynheer seam, and then repaired the damaged shaft to reach the three below. The last was brought up about four in the morning.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector of Mines Robert McLaren spent the Monday at the pit. At the inquiry at Dunfermline in late March 1908 the jury, on the Sheriff's suggestion, found that the explosion was of inflammable gas ignited by a spark from the motor; that it would not have happened had the motor been protected under the rules; and that defective ventilation from stopping the fan at weekends, and inspection by an unqualified man, contributed to it.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

In June 1908 the manager John Allan, the under-manager Andrew Ramsay and the overman George McAndrew were prosecuted at Dunfermline under the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1887 for stopping the fan and for employing McGinn as fireman. Allan and McAndrew pleaded guilty: Allan was fined £2 and McAndrew admonished under the Probation of Offenders Act. Ramsay pleaded not guilty. The Sheriff said the value of the case lay in impressing on managers the absolute necessity of obeying the rules.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of firedamp in the Fife Coal Company's Mary Pit, Lochore, late on Sunday 2 February 1908 killed three men and seriously injured five. ^1,2
• Gibson, Stein and Law, standing at the Mynheer pit bottom, were blown down the shaft to the Five Feet bottom, and the shaft between the two seams was partly wrecked. ¹
• The Mary pit was described as the deepest in Scotland, sunk to 333 fathoms, with eight men left at the Mynheer seam bottom between 21 and 22 fathoms above the five feet seam. ²
• The inquiry jury found the explosion was of inflammable gas ignited by a spark from the motor, which would not have occurred had the motor been protected, and was contributed to by stopping the fan at weekends and by inspection by an unqualified man. ³
• In June 1908 the manager John Allan was fined £2 and the overman George McAndrew admonished after pleading guilty to breaches of the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1887. ³

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…Gibson, Stein and Law, waiting at the pit bottom to signal for the cage, were blown down the shaft to the Five Feet bottom, and the shaft…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “The Mary Pit, then said to be the deepest in Scotland at 333 fathoms, had begun drawing coal only about a year before. About an hour…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s aftermath: “…Regulation Act 1887 for stopping the fan and for employing McGinn as fireman. Allan and McAndrew pleaded guilty: Allan was fined £2 and McAndrew…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…between the two seams was partly wrecked. In the Five Feet seam the overman George McAndrew found Law on the cage and saw Stein and Gibson fall…”
• Roadman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…the rules required; and the inspection was made by McGinn, a young roadsman under twenty who was not an appointed fireman and knew nothing of…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Mary Pit (Big) (Lochore) Explosion on February 2 1908 - Fife Pits — Fife Pits
2. (secondary) Accidents to 1914 - Scottish Mining Website — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Pit-M-4. Mary Pit Lochore - Fife Pits — Fife Pits

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026