Flaming chimney causes concern for residents

But firefighters want to reassure people that the fire is no cause for concern – because the chimney is meant to be ‘burning’.

Dewsbury fire station got several calls yesterday from people who saw that the chimney near the end of Park Road, Ravensthorpe, appeared to be on fire.

Fred Wilby, of Ravenshouse Road, became even more concerned when he saw that it was still ablaze this morning.

“If a wind comes in, it could hit the nearby woodland and that could all go up in flames,” he said.

But Peter May from Dewsbury fire station said the chimney posed no threat was only ‘doing what it’s meant to do’.

The field where the chimney is located was built over a landfill and the chimney was put there to burn off excess methane gas created by the waste buried underground.

Normally fans help to disperse the gas and the burning process appears invisible, but a temporary power cut meant that the fans stopped working.

This meant there was more methane passing through the chimney, causing a visible ‘dirty’ flame to appear when it was burnt.

Now the fans are working as normal, the flame will gradually return to its normal state.

Watch Commander May said: “There is no danger to anyone in the surrounding area.

“As the methane lessens the flame will go back to burning as normal.”