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It is difficult to exactly estimate the quantity of coal getting destroyed by mine fire and there are no laid down norms to calculate this. The genesis of the fire in the coal seams is attributed to spontaneous heating of coal in contact with oxygen resulting in fire. The Coal India Limited, a public sector unit of the Ministry of Coal & Mines has taken a number of steps to extinguish fire in coal mines. The steps are :
Sand flushing into active fire zone from surface to underground through boreholes;
Surface blanketing to prevent breathing in of air to the fire area;
Inert gas flushing from surface through boreholes to extinguish fire;
Quenching of spot fire and mining out the quenched coal;
Sealing of the part of the mine under fire by construction of fire stoppings/ isolation stoppings;
Application of fire resistant sealant in and around the isolation stopping/ fire stoppings;
Regular monitoring with the help of Co-detectors, toximeter, air sampling and analysis of the same at colliery level;
Trench cutting by mechanised means to excavate fire and to prevent spread of the same; and
In some mines intentional flooding by water has been done to quench the fire.
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