Pyrolysis tests were performed under laboratory conditions, simulating possible processes in the burning of brown coal mines. These tests focused on gaseous products of thermal decomposition of coal and how their concentrations changed depending on pyrolysis temperature. Results obtained can help to quantify the contributions of particular gases to overall explosiveness of a gaseous mixture and can explain the process of explosive gas release during conflagration. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.