A coal refuse pile fire that began as burning garbage in a park in the Lackawanna County community of Archbald has been extinguished.

The fire was discovered in November by visitors to Ed Staback Park.  The fire was too large for the local volunteer fire company to extinguish so they called DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation for help.  DEP assessed the extent of the file to determine if it was also spreading underground.

DEP hired Leeward Construction of Honesdale, Wayne County, to dig out the area around the fire and extinguish it.  The company also drilled boreholes nearly 100-feet deep and sprayed water and foam on the blaze.  The fire was officially declared “extinguished” on January 20.

Leeward was awarded a 500-thousand contract for the work, but total costs are still being determine.  The construction company will spend the next few weeks backfilling the area where the fire burned.

This is the second large coal refuse fire DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation has successfully extinguished in Northeast Pennsylvania during the past year.  Last winter, it took two months to put out a fire on more than 20 acres of old coal land in Simpson, Lackawanna County.

(Reprinted from Feb. 5 DEP News.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

2/9/2015