FIRE AT OPEN CAST MINE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25090, 23 January 1947, Page 3

FIRE AT OPEN CAST MINE

OUTBREAK DURING WEEK-END From Our Own Reporter REEFTON, January 22. The open cast coal mine of Chandler and party, at Murray creek, about six miles from Reefton, became alight during the week-end, and a face of coal about 40 feet high .as soon on fire. The mine, which is about 1700 feet above sea level, and a long distance from any considerable body of water, was in danger of becoming a loss, but a motor-driven pump was obtained, and a powerful jet of water was played continuously on the flames, which were extinguished by this morning. A watch is being kept at the mine until all danger is past. The Murray creek area has been the scene of several coal mine fires, and the outbreak at the week-end was near an area in which about 15 years ago a fire caused the abandonment of a mine, which became alight underground. .* Any continued spell of dry weather in the Reef ton area always presents a danger to open cast coal, mine faces and mines, as heaps of waste material from the mines in the district always hold a certain amount of burnable material. These present a fire hazard to mine buildings and machinery, and from time to time miners and ’ Reefton residents have had to cope with fires and a considerable tonnage or coal'has been lost by the burning of slack coal, which in the past had only a limited market. The cause of the last outbreak is not definitely known, but it may have been caused by overheating from the old underground workings breaking to the surface and setting the coal alight again.