Joseph Toy was the inspired driving force who introduced safety fuse into blasting practice in U.S. mines. Beginning in 1852, Joe Toy’s efforts and dedication contributed to saving thousands of miners’ lives. Later, the availability of safety fuse as a dependable method of initiation permitted Alfred Nobel and others to experiment with and commercialize nitroglycerin-based explosives, which allowed the mining industry to bloom and flourish.
Prior to the development of safety fuse, black powder charges were ignited by such methods as trails of powder to cartridges, kerosene soaked rags stuffed into blast holes, and goose quills filled with black powder to form a sort of fuse. The number of lives lost to these methods was tremendous
In 1831, in England, William Bickford invented a safety fuse to ignite black powder charges in Cornwall's underground tin mines. Under an agreement with Bickford, safety fuse was brought to the United States in 1836 to be manufactured in Connecticut by a new company, Bickford, Bacon, Eales & Co. This company struggled with production problems for several years, and, on two separate occasions, its plant burned completely. Joe Toy was sent from England to see why the company was not making progress.
Early investors pulled out, and in 1852, Joe Toy founded Toy, Bickford and Co. and successfully turned his attention to introducing new equipment and developing improved and different varieties of safety fuse. After getting his plant into production, he spent several years traveling to mining camps in the United States, going underground with the crews to demonstrate the effectiveness of his product.
Initially, he met much resistance, both from miners and management. Miners resisted the use of safety fuse because they feared it would improve productivity and reduce the number of mining jobs. Management felt the new product was too expensive. Only by persistent effort in demonstrating the tremendous advantages of safety fuse did Joe Toy overcome the resistance of both parties. Once safety fuse was introduced in some mines, its great advantages became apparent to all. By the late 1880s, Joe Toy’s fuse was being used in mines across the United States.
Joseph Toy dedicated his working life to developing, improving, and promoting safety fuse, refusing to admit defeat, and in the process saving untold numbers of lives. The successor to Toy, Bickford and Company—The Ensign-Bickford Company, Simsbury, Connecticut—is still owned and managed by Joseph Toy's descendants and remains an industry leader today.
