Fireman

The underground official responsible for testing for firedamp and inspecting the workings for hazards before a shift began.

Historical usage

From at least the 17th century, a colliery fireman's grim original task was to seek out and deliberately ignite pockets of accumulated firedamp before the rest of the shift went underground, so that any explosion happened while only he was present rather than the full workforce; in some districts the role's dangerous, shrouded appearance earned firemen the nickname 'the penitent'. The introduction of the safety lamp gradually turned the job from deliberate ignition into inspection: firemen made rounds of the workings with a flame safety lamp before each shift, and miners were kept from working with open lights until the fireman had confirmed the air was safe. By the 20th century the title had merged, in many coalfields, with the broader role of Deputy, which absorbed the fireman's gas-testing duties alongside wider safety and production oversight.

How it worked

In the role's earliest, most dangerous form, a fireman crawled into the workings wrapped in wet cloth, carrying a small candle — often stuck in a lump of wet clay to shield and reduce its flame — on the end of a long pole, raising it slowly toward the roof; a blue 'cap' of flame above the candle's own flame revealed gas in the air, and a sufficient concentration would ignite with a rush of noise rather than a catastrophic explosion, since only the fireman himself was then underground. Later, the same basic gas-testing principle continued using a flame safety lamp instead of an open candle, without the fireman needing to court an explosion deliberately.

Why it was used

Firedamp accumulating unseen in the workings was one of the most persistent hazards in coal mining, and a dedicated official checking for it before each shift, whether by deliberate ignition or later by safety lamp, was the standard way collieries tried to keep the rest of the workforce out of an explosion's way.

Risks & limitations

The earliest form of the role was extraordinarily dangerous in its own right — in spite of every precaution, firemen did not always survive the explosions they deliberately set off, and the job's later, safety-lamp-based form still carried real risk if gas was found where a lit lamp was already present.

Regional variation

Known by the same title in most English and Welsh coalfields; by the 20th century the role had merged into that of Deputy in North Wales and parts of Lancashire.

Disasters associated with this term

Included only where MineArchive's own research gives a reasonable evidential basis, with the nature of the relationship stated — not every disaster where this term might plausibly apply.

• Cambrian Colliery explosion, 1905 (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Feet seam on the night shift when the explosion struck at 6.25pm. Fireman Thomas Richards had earlier found gas in a cavity near No.5 crosscut…”
• Ferndale Colliery explosion, 1867 (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…178 men and boys on 8 November 1867, after a gas accumulation the fireman had already warned the manager about ignited from a naked light —…”
• Ferndale Colliery explosion, 1869 (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the mine at 7am, 120 of them in the South (Duffryn) District; fireman Thomas James had completed a safety inspection an hour earlier and…”
• Tylorstown Colliery explosion, 1896 (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…using a cartridge of Ammonite, but was left unfired after the night fireman detected an active gas blower there; the day fireman, Richard Evans,…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Colliery Fireman — Welsh Coal Mines (forum)
2. (secondary) Glossary of coal mining terminology — Wikipedia

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026