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The machine was being used to trim the floor.
The operator then began to shear up and the head of the miner was raised about 1m.
He reported hearing some thundering sounds before seeing an orange flame shoot from the middle of the head to the top of the face.
The flame extinguished after about two to three seconds.
Other workers grabbed a hose and two fire extinguishers to blanket the area and extinguish the flames.
According to the regulator, the methane general body reading was 0.4% before the incident.
Afterwards, it reported some layering between 0.7%-0.9% methane and about 0.5% methane, at the cutter head.
To prevent similar incidents, the regulator recommends all underground coal mines have frictional ignition plans to account for changing conditions in the seam.
