I am hoping someone can help me - in my other (non-working) life I am a Parish Councillor and we are hoping to host one of the beacons for the Queen's jubilee in June. We have approached our County Council about using a local country park - it includes the highest point in the parish, which is an old mine spoil heap. They stopped mining on the site over 30 years ago but the Rangers are worried that the beacon may ignite coal in the spoil heap and cause a fire. I know this is an unusual request but there is normally someone out there who can advise, so I hope they read this. I don't know where to start! Regards Lucy

Lucy - Your question is sensible in relation to a sizeable bonfire type beacon compared with gas-fired brazier typer beacons which are used on buildings and for other locations where bonfires cannot be used. No doubt you’ve already seen the official guide to beacons for the forthcoming Jubilee at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/...ide_to_Taking_Part15.pdf It includes how to register them, advice about safety precautions, and how to build and light them. It also contains some interesting photos of past beacon fires, including a massive one on page 4. I'd disagree with Michael's suggestion that methane is a concern. It is a concern INSIDE many coal mines (though not all - some are proven and designated as methane-free which allows a relaxation in standard precautions regarding methane gas), but is unlikely to be a problem in the open air. Moreover, if the tip has existed for a few decades, the methane in fragments of coal within it has probably come out and filtered through the tip material to disperse in the open air. In relation to the possible risk of heat from the bonfire igniting coal fragments within the tip below, consider the following: Does the top of the tip contain an ignitable concentration of coal fragments? If you can, dig some samples for visual analysis and advice. Local retired coal miners might be able to advise. If the coal content is considered too low to pose a problem, then there’s no significant risk. An alternative or complementary option is to experiment with a small bonfire on a sample amount of tip top spoil elsewhere under controlled conditions to see if the spoil ignites and/or transmits much heat. Other measures could include thoroughly soaking the tip top spoil with water (before and after the event) and/or laying a suitably thick layer of inert material as a temporary base for the bonfire. Though I guess from your information that the site has never been used before for a beacon, it might be worth asking around to check this. If it has been used before, those involved might still be around and able to pass on useful advice about their experience with the site. Also, the size of the proposed bonfire will influence the degree and amount of heat emitted downwards. In any event, you’ll need to share your findings and proposals with the countryside rangers and their bosses to allay their concerns. As I’m no expert on this matter - just using basic principles and some background knowledge - hopefully other forum users can give better advice, preferably based on experience of beacons/bonfires on old coal tips elsewhere. Hope everything works out and that the proposed beacon is a success. As an aside, this topic reminds me of a case from an engineering geology lecture when I was at college. When the coal-fired central heating system of the Jessops Hospital for Women in Sheffield was commissioned after construction of the hospital (early 1930s?) the engineers were baffled by a massive temperature rise in the basement boiler room, even after shutting down the coal furnaces. It transpired that the boiler room floor was located virtually on top of a seam of coal (among various seams in the local bedrock comprising Carboniferous coal measures). When the furnaces were started the heat from them ignited the coal seam. Ultimately the fire was quenched by the injection of (liquid?) nitrogen down into the seam at various points. After that considerable work was needed to excavate and remove the seam and presumably replace it with concrete.