Page 54 By Gregory Reynolds As nearly always happens in trage - dies, there were those who were lucky and those whose luck ran out in the Paymaster Gold Mine disaster . It was just before 8 a.m. on Feb. 2, 1945 and a shift was going under - ground at the company’ s T immins, operation. Jack Brcnctta was about to step into the cage when someone in it said it was already crowded. He stepped back and was saved. Hector Poitras was about to get on the cage when he noticed he had for got - ten his lamp, a battery-operated light attached to the miner ’ s helmet. It was mandatory that everyone go - ing under ground wear a helmet and lamp. While he went to get it, the cage left without him. Poitras later said “I cer - tainly had a close call. “I guess my number wasn’ t up or l would have gone down with them.’ ’ At the 1,000 foot mark the cable hold - ing the cage snapped, plunging 16 men 1,500 feet to the bottom and into the shaft sump. Mine cages, the elevators that take men deep into the bowels of the earth, were believed to be totally safe. That belief was shattered when the double decker cage plummete d to the bottom of the No.5 shall of the Pay - master . All the men died in what was the sec - ond worst mining tragedy in the his - tory of the Porcupine Gold Camp. The worst was the under ground fre on Feb. 10, 1928 at the Hollinger Gold Mine, the lar gest gold mine in the British Empire. Thirty-nine men died that terrible day . Another lucky Paymaster miner was Donald T ench who missed his bus that day . It was the only time in the 20 years that he worked at the Paymaster , lo - cated half way between T immins and South Porcupine, that he failed to catch his bus. He caught the next bus but was too late to join the other men he normally rode the cage with. A practical joke saved yet another miner , Paul Strigncr . He was having a last cigaret te while waiting for his usual cage when the members of another crew pulled him onto their cage. He didn’ t like going under ground a few minutes early but he lived into his 90s because of that good-natured joke. A cornor ’ s inquest was to rule that two things contributed to the disaster; The hoist rope broke and the safety dogs failed to prevent the cage from falling. No fault was found to any individual or company . Design change s later led to improved safety features but on that cold Febru - ary day the families of the Paymaster workers had only one thought in their minds: W as their loved one on that cage The whistle of the Paymaster was sounded imme diately offcials knew something serious had happened. It Note: In the previous story is the offcial investigation’ s fndings on the disaster but the human element is not there. It is in this story . Family’ s str ength tested Human reaction to Paymaster disaster Cont’d on pg. 54 “The Porcupine Camp” 100 Y ears of Mining Page 52