 Although most of the coal seams in the area were at a deep level, there was a shallow seam of coal which outcropped just South of School Street, inclining away from the street at an angle of about 20 degrees in a Northerly direction.In September 1983, a property in School Street suffered substantial damage so the National Coal Board were notified and in 1984 they sank boreholes.This showed that the ambient temperatures had substantially raised however the board denied liability and did nothing to; halt the fire, inform the county, the district or the parish councils or adjacent property owners, despite the fact that they had carried out a smoke test that showed an influx of air, the very cause of combustion.