When I started working underground at a County Durham pit in 1950 the
standard job titles were 'overman', 'deputy' and 'shotfirer'. Older miners
often referred to the shotfirer as the 'fireman' so the title appeared to be
dying out.
Deputies and shotfirers were the only miners authorised to have a key for
the powder containers and the special key required to operate the exploders.
Deputies were only permitted to carry a restricted number of detonators - I
recall it being something like 10 detonators per shift.
On the surface, electricians were allowed access to the exploder keys in
order to carry out repairs or the statutory testing.
Alan Vickers.
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