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Dozer burns on blast heap and coal mine

dozer fire nsw mine
A dozer operator at a NSW mine had a lucky escape after he decided to move the dozer closer to a water cart

The NSW Resources Regulator has issued an alert on a dozer fire at a NSW open cut mine where fan operator escaped with minor injuries.

According to the report, the operator decided to relocate the dozer to a lower level to get better access to a water cart when the dozer became bogged on the slope of the blast heap. The dozer’s fire suppression system was manually operated, which appeared to extinguish the fire. A short time later, the fire reignited. Several workers attempted to put out the fire with hand-held extinguishers. A water cart arrived and extinguished the fire. The operator slipped and suffered a hand injury.

Recommendations to industry: Within the site’s emergency procedures, mine operators should consider access to work areas for emergency vehicles when designing work areas. Operators should follow emergency procedures without causing further risk to themselves and others from environmental hazards such as poor lighting, unstable ground conditions and toxic fumes.

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