1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

No. 11. MINING LAWS OF PENNSYLVANIA. cxxviiio his judgment, it is impracticable to comply with the foregoing requirement;and mines where more than ten persons are employed,shall be provided with a fan, furnace or other artificial means to producethe ventilation, and allstoppings between main intake and returnair-ways hereinafter built or replaced shall be substantiallybuilt with suitable material, which shall be approved by the inspector ofSection 3.the district.All ventilating fans shall be kept in operation continuouslynight and day, unless operations are indefinitely suspended, exceptwritten permission is given by the mine inspector of the districtto stop the same, and the said written permission shall state the particularhours the stud fan may not be in operation, and the mine inspector shall have power to withdraw or modify such permission ashe may deem best, but in all cases the fan shall be started two hoursbefore the time to begin work. When the fan may be stopped bypermission of the mine inspector a notice printed in the variouslai'guages used by persons employed in the mine, stating at whathour or hours the fan will be stopped, shall be posted by the mineforeman in a conspicuous place at the entrance or entrances to themine.Said printed notices shall be furnished by the mine inspector andthe cost thereof borne by the State: Provided, That should it at anytime become necessary to stop the fan on account of accident orneeded repairs to any part of the machinery connected therewith, orby reason of any other unavoidable cause, it shall then be the dutyof the mine foreman or any other officials in charge, after first havingprovided, as far as possible for the safety of the persons employedin the mine, to order said fan to be stopped so as to make thenecessary repairs or to remove any other difficulty that may havebeen the cause of its stoppage. And all ventilating furnaces inmines shall, for two hours before the appointed time to begin workand during working hours, be properly attended by a person employedfor that purpose.In mines generating fire-damp in sufficientquantities to be detected by ordinary safety lamps, all main airbridges or overcasts made after the passage of this act shall be builtof masonry or other incombustible material of ample strength or bedriven through the solidstrata.In all mines the doors used in guiding and directing the ventilationof the mine shall be so hung and adjusted that they will closethemselves, or be supplied with spring or pulleys so that they cannotbe left standing open, and an attendant shall be emploj^ed at allprincipal doors through which cars are hauled, for the purpose oropening and closing said doors when trips of cars are passing to andfrom the workings, unless an improved self-acting door is used,which principal doors shall be determined by the mine inspector or