South Yorkshire Times, August 26th 1944
Pit Fire Fighter’s Death
Open Verdict at Wath Inquest
“I am satisfied that the correct verdict in this case is an open one. It may well be that this man’s illness, which undoubtedly started about May 20th, or 21st, was directly attributable to the activities which he had been undertaking. I think it is probable, but it has not been sufficiently proved for me to enter a record of that fact,” said the Sheffield District Coroner (Mr. A. P. Lockwood) at a Wath inquest yesterday (Thursday) on Cyril Bailey (40), deputy at Wath Main Colliery, of “Blenheim,” Buckleigh Road, Wath, whose death occurred on Saturday. The activities to which the coroner referred were the fighting of the underground fire at Cadeby Main Colliery in May in which Bailey, as a member of the rescue team at Wath Rescue Station, took part. It was stated that Bailey had complained of feeling unwell during the fire fighting operations and had not worked since. Death was said to be due to tuberculous bronchial pneumonia.
Lucy Bailey said her husband was called out at midnight on Saturday May 20th, with the rescue team to go to the fire at Cadeby Colliery. He came home at 5.30 am and went again to Cadeby at 2.30 am on Monday, returning at 4pm. when he complained of terrific heat and of working in breathing apparatus as there had been some gas. He had been unwell on Wednesday when he visited the underground manager at Wath Main Colliery and had vomited all the way home, and he visited the doctor. A week later he was removed to the Montagu Hospital with pneumonia and remained there until June 9th and then went to the Crookhill Hall Sanatorium until June 16th. He was brought home and had been under various doctors. Before he went to the fire at Cadeby she had noticed nothing wrong with his health.
Replying to Dr. Forbes pathologist to Sheffield City Police. Mrs. Bailey said her husband had never had a cough before this illness nor had he lost weight until about three weeks after returning home from Crookhill Hall, and his appetite had always been up to standard.
In answer to Major A.P. Badger (Fenoughty, Dunn & Co. Rotherham) who represented her, Mrs. Bailey said that her husband had not complained or shown signs of any illness whatever before May 20th.
Comrades Evidence
Leslie Pyatt, 6, Becknoll Road, Brampton, a coal cutter at Wath Main Colliery, a member of the rescue team who was with Bailey at the fire on both the Sunday and Monday, in a statement said that they carried breathing apparatus. On the Sunday they went down the pit at 7.30 and up to 9.30 were about 700 yards from the fire. At 9.30 they were engaged for an hour in putting out the fire with water from a hose pipe. It was hot and uncomfortable and witness found difficulty in breathing owing to the heat. He did not hear Bailey complain that day. They went down the pit on Monday at 8.30am wearing breathing apparatus for about 35 minutes. Bailey complained to him of feeling cold and clammy. They returned to Wath by taxi about 12 and had a bath, when Bailey again complained and said he would not be going to work the next day.
Witness said that the apparatus had been worn in practice as long as two hours and he himself had not noticed any ill-effects from fighting the fire. Bailey had worn his breathing apparatus in practice two hours on several occasions and had never complained. Conditions near the fire were much hotter than working conditions. Members of the rescue team were medically examined each January; all the team had been examined last January. Apparatus was inspected from time to time by the station superintendent and the man himself.
Dr. Forbes, who made a post-mortem examination, said the disease was confined to the lungs, mostly in the left lung where there were many cavities and it had spread to the right lung. He could only estimate with any certainty that the disease had been there for several months. Conditions such as those described at the underground fire by the last witness would, in his opinion, be likely to aggravate the disease. The hot conditions were likely to cause a “flare-up” of the conditions if there were lesions present. Witness did not think that the fire fighting activities could have started the disease so suddenly as described by Mrs. Bailey. He would not expect such activities to cause tuberculous pneumonia in a healthy man.
Answering Mr. A. Fairhurst, (manager, representing Wath Main Colliery), Dr. Forbes said that clinical examination would reveal the disease but it might easily be missed.