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The Louis Frost Notes 1685 to 1962
Rescue Organization and Mine Safety Inspection
The Corporation maintains a well organized and highly trained
Mine Rescue Corps under the care of well trained instructors.
The corps is divided into three main districts with a sub-district in the Town of New Waterford. Prior to the closure of the
Springhill Collieries, a well equipped rescue station was also maintained
in that district.
In each district a well equipped rescue station is maintained, under the supervision of a Rescue Superintendent who is responsible
for the maintenance of the equipment and the training of the Rescue Crews
and Station Attendants.
A total of eighteen fully trained crews of six men per crew
are maintained at all times and, in addition, a sufficient number of
trainees are given rescue training to maintain the crews at full strength
at all times. All rescue stations and teams fall under the direction of
the Chief Mining Engineer. In this way there is complete liaison between
the whole corps.
All teans are equipped with McCaa self-contained breathing
apparatus, this equipment having replaced the Meco Briggs self contained
breathing apparatus in use in 1942, which, in turn, displaced the old "Westphalian" and "Draeger" used in 1922.
Although doubt has been expressed as to the Company which
brought the first self-contained apparatus to this side of the Atlantic,
there is no doubt whatever that the Dominion Coal Company established the
first organized Rescue Station in Glace Bay, N.S., in 1907.
This station was started with 20 sets of 1907 Draeger apparatus
and all necessary station equipment and supplies.
After a fire in No. 1 pit in Sydney Mines, the N.S.S. Company
installed 15 sets of Draeger apparatus in a Rescue car made up of a converted PuIlman car.
In 1909 a fire occurred at the Back Pit in Stellarton where the
equipment from Glace Bay was used, and subsequently the Acadia Company
erected a station and installed 10 sets of "Securetus" apparatus.
In 1912 the Stations at New Waterford and Springhill were
opened and equipped with Draeger apparatus. Later the N.S.S. Company acquired
two sets of "Proto" se1f-contained machines and in 1918, after the explosion
at the Allan Shaft Mine, The Acadia Company added some "Gibbs" machines to
their equipment at Stellarton.
Some time prior to 1922 the Corporation, then known as BESCO,
formed a committee to study the various types of self contained breathing
apparatus available and to recommend unification of equipment for all districts being worked by the Corporations's Collieries.
The units tested were the
Gibbs, manufactured by Mines Supplies Company. Pittsburgh
Paul " " American Atmos Co., lake Draegerts
Proto " " Siebe Gorman & Company, London, England
Briggs " " Mining Engineering Company, Sheffield, England
The committee recommended the Meco-Briggs machine and this
type of unit was installed in all districts.
The present organization consists of eighteen teams
distributed as follows :-
Self Contained
Breathing Apparatus
District Teams McCaa Chemox Gas Masks Inhalators
Glace Bay 6 26 19 10 2
New Waterford 4 12 6 - 1
Sydney Mines 4 20 9 - 1
Thorburn, New Glasgow 4 20 13 - 1
Safety Inspection
The Corporation also maintains a team of Safety Inspectors,
under the direction of a Chief Inspector located in Glace Bay, who are
responsible for the daily inspection of the operating section in the
collieries and the electrical equipment used in the operations.
An inspector is located at each colliery in addition to the
Electrical Inspector, and they work in close liaison with the colliery
officials in matters of safety of the working force.
Ventilation
In addition to the inspector noted above, the Chief Mining
Engineer maintains a competent force of field and ventilation engineers
who survey and direct the efficient distribution of the ventilation facilities at the collieries and maintain constant liaison in all Engineering
matters, including the safety of the operations, with the various colliery
departments; so that a very efficient operation is maintained throughout
the Corporation Collieries.
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