Niddrie No 7 Pit, 24 May 1884

Seven men died in an underground fire at No 7 Pit, Niddrie:

• William Hamilton, 51, married
• George Hill, 15 years & 8 months
• David Kerr, 17, single
• John Middleton, 16
• Neil Paton, 22, single
• Michael Scanlan, 14
• David Smith, 25, single

Newspaper Reports

On Saturday morning, a serious fire, resulting in the loss of seven lives, broke out in one of the pits belonging to the Niddrie and Benhar Coal Company, about 4 miles from Edinburgh.

Shortly after 6 o'clock, while some men were descending No 7 pit, it was observed that the shaft, at a depth of about 170 fathoms, was on fire. They returned to the top of the pit, and steps were immediately taken to extinguish the flames and to rescue the men, of whom there were at that time between 30 and 40 below. The fire spread rapidly, and a thick volume of smoke issued from the pit, preventing any communication in that direction. Two other pits, Nos. 8 and 12, are, however, connected with No. 7, and by No. 12 all the men, with the exception of 16, escaped. The depth of No 7 Pit is about 250 fathoms. When news of the fire spread, great excitement prevailed and the mouth of the pit was soon surrounded by a large crowd, including friends of the miners still in the pit. Relief parties were formed without delay, and various unsuccessful attempts were made to reach the imprisoned men. At the same time efforts were made to put out the fire by turning on streams of water into the pit. The Edinburgh fire brigade were soon on the spot assisting the work. Mr Ralph Moore, Inspector of Mines, who was telegraphed for, reached the pit shortly after midday, and along with the manager and others superintended the operations of the relief parties.

In the course of the afternoon one of the parties discovered the missing men in a working above what is called the "cross cut".  Seven of the miners were found dead. One of the bodies was that of a man named Hamilton, still clasping in his arms his son, who was alive. Information was immediately sent to the surface, and Dr Andrew Balfour and Dr John Balfour of Portobello, descended and gave medical assistance to the rescued miners, who were much exhausted. On being brought to the top they were at once conveyed to their homes. The seven dead bodies were then brought up and there were many heart-rending scenes.

The names of the rescued are as follows:-

James Kerr, Patrick Shavelin, John Fleming, Archibald McCartney (formely of the Black Watch and present at Tel-el-Kebir), Patrick Corrigan, Alexander Ferguson, Robert Kerr (a boy), John Ferguson (a boy), and William Hamilton ( a boy)

The names of those who lost their lives are as follows:-

John Middleton, Neil Paton, David Kerr, David Smith (late of the 79th Highlanders and present at Tel-el-Kebir), William Hamilton, George Hill (a boy), and Michael Scanlan ( a boy).

An engineman named John Coulter, who saw the flames from a cross connexion in the pit, is of the opinion that the fire was caused by the friction of the pump rods. All the pits have been closed in order to prevent currents of air, and in the meantime about 500 men are out of employment. [The Times 26 May 1884]