Kiveton Park blaze finally out after four months, says fire service

A fire which burned for four months at an industrial estate has finally been put out, the fire service said.

The blaze broke out at an illegal waste store at Kiveton Park Industrial Estate, near Sheffield, on 8 September.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Environment Agency, which have been jointly battling the flames, said they would leave the site this week.

Local residents have voiced concerns about the health impact of smoke from the blaze.

Some told the BBC last week they were considering moving away from the area as a result of the fire. They said they feared it may not be the last at the site, where 200,000 tonnes of baled waste was kept.

The Environment Agency (EA) has said the waste was illegally stored and it was "looking into potential offences".

A fire service spokesperson said on Monday: "There's still a substantial amount of waste on site.

"A lot of work has been done with the site owner around responsibility and maintenance. Processes are ongoing with the EA around looking at how we've got to this position.

"We want to make sure that as we leave the site finally this week, from a fire service perspective, that work will continue to ensure that it remains a compliant site as we leave."

The Environment Agency confirmed it was "in the final stages" of dealing with the blaze and "will be off site in the next few days".

But local residents said they were "sceptical" about their ordeal being over after four months of deep-lying pockets of smouldering waste reigniting the fire.

Cheryl Barton, 65, who lives less than half a mile from the industrial park, told the BBC: "We are not holding our breath, if you'll pardon the pun."

She added: "The other thing is there's still thousands of tonnes of waste stored there."

Residents have criticised the Environment Agency over its handling of the site, where a mountain of waste was stored in a derelict steel factory before the blaze.

They said they had raised concerns about the volume of waste being stored and smaller fires which had previously broken out.

The industrial estate is owned by Alfie Best, one of the UK's richest men with a property empire of £700m.

His company, Best Holdings Ltd, leased the site out to another firm.

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