Work to extinguish fire which began last September and continues to smoulder ‘nearing completion’

The fire at Kiveton Park Industrial Estate, which began on September 21, has continued to smoulder.

Residents have raised concerns about the health impacts from the blaze, which South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue says is made up of “baled waste” stored at an “illegal waste site”.

The Environment Agency has installed an external air quality monitoring unit close to the site and is looking into potential offences at the site.

Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP for Rother Valley, raised concerns over the blaze on December 31, posting on social media that he was “extremely concerned” over “thick plumes of smoke”, “in what seems to be a bigger escalation than we have seen for some weeks”.

However, SYFR reported the smoke is believed to have originated from a separate incident – a van fire on the estate adjacent to the waste site.

They were called to the incident at 9.30am and found an abandoned scrap van well alight.

An Environment Agency spokesmany said: “The work to extinguish a waste fire at Kiveton Park Industrial Estate is nearing competition.

“The incident is being dealt with via a multi-agency operation comprising South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, the Environment Agency, Rotherham Council, the UK Health Security Agency and South Yorkshire Police.

“We are continuing to ask local residents to bear with us while the work is completed.

“If people have environmental concerns they should contact our 24/7 hotline, on 0800 807060.”