§871 Fire Protection

Summary

Coal mines must have firefighting gear that fits the mine’s size and conditions. The Secretary will set minimum rules for the kind and amount of that equipment, and any existing Secretary or Bureau of Mines interpretations stay in effect until changed. After every blasting job, someone must check for fires. Underground oil and grease storage must be fireproof, and oil/grease must be kept in closed metal or equally safe containers unless the Secretary approves another material. Underground electrical rooms, battery stations, compressor stations, shops, and permanent pumps must be in fireproof housings, and air used to ventilate electrical areas must be sent straight into the return airway. Welding, cutting, or soldering with an arc or flame should be done in fireproof enclosures when possible. If done outside an enclosure, a qualified person must watch, search for fires during and after the work, and continuously test for methane with Secretary-approved detectors immediately before and during the work; work is not allowed if the air has 1.0% or more methane. Rock dust or fire extinguishers must be ready. Within one year after the operative date, unattended underground equipment must have approved fire suppression devices and use Secretary-approved fire-resistant hydraulic fluids; other equipment must use those fluids unless it has approved suppression devices. Main and secondary belt drives must have automatic deluge-type water sprays, foam generators, or other approved fire controls that give enough water or foam. Belt conveyors must have slippage and sequence switches; within 60 days after the operative date the Secretary must require automatic belt-fire warning devices and set a schedule to add fire suppression on belt haulageways. On and after the operative date, all new underground conveyor belts must meet the Secretary’s flame-resistant rules.