Explosion at Firth House Mills, Stainland [1886]

Fatal Boiler Explosion at Stainland

On Wednesday, a disastrous boiler explosion occurred at at the Firth House Mills occupied by T. H. Bracken & Company Limited paper manufacturers, about two miles from Stainland station.

The boiler was a vertical one in a shed with a corrugated iron roof adjoining the Mill.

At the time of the accident the boiler contained a quantity of old bagging and cold water, and steam from an adjoining boiler was turned into it for the purpose of heating the contents. Steam was escaping the usual way from a safety valve, and in order to prevent so much blowing off, a young man named Fred Stott, age twenty, who resided in Stainland, got on top of the boiler. As soon as he had reached the boiler, it exploded, and the shed was completely wrecked.

Stott was killed instantly and his body was found 40 or 50 yards away in a field.

The damage to the building is estimated at £200 and it is not covered by insurance. The boiler was considered quite safe and capable of working to 40 lbs, the pressure at the time being 19 lbs to 20 lbs.

How the accident was brought about is not known, but it is conjectured that, on reaching the top, Stott placed his hand on the lever of the safety valve and so caused the disaster. Not the slightest carelessness is attributed to him. Deceased was the eldest of a family of eight