Assessment of an Underground Coal Mine Fire: A Case Study From Zonguldak, Turkey

This paper aims to evaluate an underground coal-mine fire detected on November, 11th 2007 in Gelik Mine of Karadon Colliery of Turkish Hardcoal Enterprise (TTK), Zonguldak, Turkey. Several techniques were employed by TTK to fight the fire including sealing, filling the mine with water and pumping nitrogen. The mine atmosphere was continuously monitored and gas samples were collected for analysis using a gas chromatograph. In this study, following a description of the fire fighting efforts, the interpretations of well-known fire indices applied to the different stages of the incident were given and attempts were made to compare and to test the reliability of these indices.