History of coal miners inventiveness in clothing their families. Mining has always been dangerous, because of methane gas explosions, roof cave-ins, and the difficulty of mines rescue. The worst single disaster in British coal mining history was at Senghenydd in the South Wales coalfield. On the morning of 14 October 1913 an explosion and subsequent fire killed 436 men and boys. It followed a series of many extensive Mining accidents such as The Oaks explosion of 1866 and the Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862. Most of the explosions were caused by firedamp ignitions followed by coal dust explosions. Deaths were mainly caused by carbon
Merrimack Valley gas explosions was shut off; electricity to portions of the three communities was also interrupted to avoid igniting any lingering gas. Thousands of people were told to shut off their gas service and evacuate their homes. In Lawrence, Mayor Dan Rivera urged residents in the city to move north of the Merrimack River. Schools and senior citizen centers were opened up in all three areas to take in the evacuees, and hotels offered shelter as well. The number of people evacuating by vehicle soon caused gridlock on streets that were already experiencing congestion by the afternoon rush hour commute. Merrimack College evacuated