The accident at Oakley, near Dunfermline occurred in a pit, newly sunk to the main coal, which produced a considerable quantity of fire damp. In this pit, which is 85 yards deep, there is a band of ironstone 15 yards above the coal. In commencing the working of this ironstone, a scaffold was fixed in the pit; but being put there to serve a temporary purpose, no care was taken to make the joinings of the planks air tight which composed it. There was also an opening made in the partition (or midwall) where this scaffold was fixed, which would allow the downcast current of air to pass through it, into the upcast division of the pit, leaving that part of the pit under the scaffold, and the opening in the partition unventilated, which showed a great want of of consideration or judgement on the part of those under whose management these operations were conducted, in not either having the joinings of the scaffold made airtight or the space underneath it ventilated, particularly when i was known that the coal at the bottom of the pit generated a quantity of firedamp. By what means the carburetted hydrogen gas was ignited is unknown. The 3 men that were on the scaffold were found dead at the bottom of the pit, and a young woman who was on the pithead at the time was killed by a piece of wood falling upon her, which was thrown out of the pit by the force of the explosion.

See also newspaper report

 Four men were killed whilst descending a pit at Chapelhall near Airdrie, belonging to the Monkland Iron and Steel Company, by the winding machinery becoming ungeared (or detached) from the engine. In this case the engineman was tried for culpable homicide at the Glasgow Autumn Circuit, and after the usual evidence for and against was acquitted. I am, however, quite satisfied that the accident was caused solely by the neglect of the engineman, from the imperfect manner in which the winding machinery was attached to the engine, and not from any defect in the machinery.

[NB Engineman was John Ballantyne, son of Thomas Ballantyne, age 22, residing with his father at Chapelhall. He was a native of Dumfreisshire. He was tried for culpable homicide at the High Court, Glasgow, 1 Oct 1856 and found not guilty - Source NAS catalogue]

 It was known to the manager of the Colliery that a small quantity of water lay to the "rise" of the works, and the men who were driving the exploring room had orders to keep a bore in advance of it; this precaution was observed, and the bore hole, at the time of the accident, was seven feet beyond the face of the room in solid coal.
In this case, the quantity of water was certainly small, but sufficient to produce the accident. It would appear if the men had remained in their places they would have been comparatively safe, but under such circumstances, even though danger was not seriously suspected, it is not possible to prevent con-fusion, and it would require some nerve for men to stand in a body of water where the lights were extinguished, or grope their way safely in gloom and darkness.

It is always unsafe to approach a waste containing water, with a single bore in advance, and the following sketch, shewing the position of the place after the accident, is another striking illustration of it.

Certainly the safe way is to keep, at least, a centre or " breast" and two " wing" bores, at all times, in advance of the solid coal, and the distance ought to vary with the known or anticipated pressure of water.

Accident by explosion of fire damp, in a pit at Wishaw belonging to James Anderson and Company, where 2 boys were killed whilst standing on the cage to ascend the pit. In this case the fire damp seems also to have accumulated under a scaffold placed in the pit, at an upper working. There was an abandoned working at the bottom of the pit, used at the time of the accident as a water lodgement; it was in this working where the firedamp generated, which would escape into the pit when the water was pumped out below the roof of the mines. In neither of these cases is it possible to arrive at a correct knowledge of how the gas under the scaffold was ignited. The probability is, that it was caused from a light having been dropped upon, or through the scaffolding. That such was the case at Wishaw there can be little doubt, from the circumstances that none of the other workmen were injured, and even the person who was close to the pit at the time signalling the engineman escaped unhurt.

Newspaper report - Cambusnethan pages

[NB Names should be Robert Wilson Baillie and William Davidson]