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Fire sparks fears over Fife mining site

The closed opencast mine at Muir Dean.
The closed opencast mine at Muir Dean.

A worried Fifer has raised safety concerns at the closed Muir Dean opencast site near Crossgates.

Gail Milne said she went to the site to speak to someone about the future of the mine but instead found a coal heap on fire. She was met with smoke, flames and the crackling sounds of coal on fire, she said.

She also claimed there was open access across fields and from the main road for members of the public and nearby communities.

“Clearly there are safety issues on this closed Muir Dean mine,” she said.

“Never mind the fire, if children wandered in there’s not even fencing or warning signs around a sheer drop cliff-edge of hundreds of feet down to the Fordell Day Level.

“Not only is there a fire burning unattended, there seem to be oils and liquids contained in barrels close to the fire which could spark off and become an even bigger problem.

“I’m no expert, but I would imagine it could easily become a fire crew’s nightmare were they to be called in if the fire really took hold.

“There are gigantic vehicles abandoned all over the place which look like they have fuel in their tanks. Who exactly is taking responsibility for making sure safety issues are being upheld?

“Someone needs to take responsibility today.”

Muir Dean operators ATH Resources fell into administration last year and efforts to find a buyer came to nothing. Hargreaves, which took over several Scottish Coal sites earlier this year, bought assets of ATH subsidiary Aardvark TMC but not Muir Dean opencast.

A spokesman for Hargreaves said the firm has been given limited rights of access to a very small part of the site at Muir Dean essentially a large concrete pad on which vehicles and equipment were parked.

A Hargreaves security man, while making a regular patrol of the concrete pad, noticed that coal stocks at the rear of the area were steaming.

“We put a team in to make a managed recovery of the coal stocks,” he said.

A quantity of coal was removed quickly and sent to market and the remaining stocks were being moved quickly.

“There is no danger to either the public or to our employees,” he said.

Fife Council leader Alex Rowley said issues relating to the security of the site and the coal stockpile incident were matters for the landowners and other interested parties.

“Fife Council officers have, however, been monitoring the site regularly with specialist consultants and can confirm that the site has a 24-hour security presence and there is also a full-time site foreman,” he said.

“Visits confirm that the coal smouldering has been ‘dampened down’, with wet soil being placed on top and sides and Hargreaves, the owners of the coal and the stored vehicles, are to remove the coal.

“They have agreed a haulage route for the lorry drivers to check when leaving the site to get them onto the motorway via the route approved under the planning permissions.

“I am advised that all the vehicles on site have had their batteries and fuel removed for some time, mainly to ensure they cannot be stolen as well as for health and safety reasons.

“The whole site is fenced and the security man carries out hourly perimeter walks as part of the remit of the security shift,” he said.

“The fence is clearly signposted throughout with health and safety signs regarding the dangers of the quarry.”