School closes in face of smoke
(CNS): The Cayman International School closed its doors to students today as winds drove the smoke from the still blazing George Town dump fire across the school campus and towards Camana Bay. Fire officers were still battling the blaze on Thursday morning, more than 24 hours after a fire started deep inside Grand Cayman’s landfill yesterday. Despite their best efforts, firefighters have still only managed to contain about 50% of the internal blaze, which keeps re-igniting across the main areas of mount Trashmore. All off duty personnel have been called into work to maintain the round the clock fire-fight. The general public is advised to avoid the area as much as possible as a result of the thick smoke billowing from the ongoing blaze.
Officials said that further updates would be forthcoming during the day as crews try to get better control of the internal blaze.
Check back for updates later today.
Category: Local News
I don't think the smoke is the only problem at that school. Has anyone ever seen any studies on possible leeching into the soil/playgrounds of the school? What are those children digging in? What is under their fingernails when they eat lunch? Does anyone know? Is it just cross your fingers and hope the leeching is only in the direction of the North Sound – this is a visable bubbling fact – where only the fish are sucking it in? Leeching is where is the problem lays. Those little girls have every egg they will ever produce in their little bodies. A study needs to be done. It needs to be made public so people can make informed decisions.
The fault lays with CPA. Why would they approve a school next to the dump? Anyone to be sued would be CPA and the Developers. Not government Bo Bo .
Certified Public Accountants?
Turtle Stew, who is at fault if a contract is entered into for the purchase of land 20yrs ago and there is clause in said contract that stipulates that Govt has to deal with the Dump so as not to affect the surronding land in the future?
Oops, that makes it our problem Bobo.
The CPA, Central Planning Authority is the Government Bo Bo..
To all those mentally challenged individuals to bash Dart or Camana Bay they have no idea what is going on here. The problem is the dump and not Dart.
For decades the dump's useful life has been over and no government has had the will to fix it. The independents just blow hot air and have nothing useful to say.
It is an eye sore and it stinks up must of the downtown tourist area, any thinking person who be embarrassed to have such a stink in their capital.
So suck it up Ozzie and come up with some answers.
It's called incompetence governments…over the last 24 years.
The residence on the west Bay Road have been complaining to the past Governments for over 24 years now.
And let me say this to the Dart haters, he was no where in sight, mind or soul when the people wanted to remove the dump from where it is now.
So lay off the man and stop pointing fingers. If i have anything to say, it's all our stupid fault for sitting on our asses and didnt put fire under our politicians to do their job.
Any Lawyers out there can advise if it is possible to sue the Cayman Islands Government for their incometence to properly manage the dump resulting in a fire that caused smoke to enter my house overnight and having to evacuate and the possible long term health risks? May be even a class action lawsuit as that seems to be the only way to get anything done to resolve the dump issue. Is it possibe to also name the minister responsbile for the dump in the lawsuit.
Any advise is greatly appreciated.
And i hope you do sue them. It's time these guys realise that they can't keep fooling the people.
I am happy to advise you. Can you please send over a $10,000 retainer and we can get going at once.
As your attorney, I advise you to move to Bodden Town. There's no smoke there. And there will be no toxic dump there either.
It’s beautiful clear skies in savanna & smoke free lol
Let it smoke out SMB=cig haters that wanted the cig to downsize lmao
I love the smell of carcinogens in the morning.
The smoke is toxic! you will see a lot of seek people in the weeks to come.
And i hope the law suits keep coming!!
All loyalty should be to the UK as the sovereign entity. Anything else is treasonous.
The winds are from the west now, blowing the smoke to the East. Take a look at how much of Grand Cayman (to the East) is being affected by the east-blowing smoke.
If Dart gets his way and the dump moves to BT, think of how many other developments (including Camana Bay) and people will be affected by the dump smell or smoke from a fire with the vast majority of year-round winds blowing from the East Northeast across half of Grand Cayman.
Build the WTE facility at the current source in GT.
Or how about a landfill project planned and run by professionals. Those ones don't catch on fire.
Real smart to build a school right next to the dump! The dump was there long before the school and camana bay yet we're all so surprised when things like this happen. Real genius.
That says alot about the planning department
Did they also (planning)approved many other businesses close to the dump….what;'s you grip about them??or you just want to get at Dart??
And real smart of Planning to approve a school to be built there.
Planning is just real smart in general.
We all know that the school was put there because Dart thought that he would arrange for the dump to be moved………..Guess he has to wait a little longer than anticipated…………
But how long are they willing to wait? Govt is already breaking existing contracts i.e. WB Rd / Hotel.
People who lend a hand for the benefit of others don't normally take to kindly to being slapped in the face.
It seems our Government doesn't care, and honoring contracts is the main form of getting any business.
Why do people wonmder why there are no other investors lining up at the door?
Not to mention all of those people that built condos, hotels and businesses along SMB, such idiots as well. And the condos and houses in Snug Harbour — those people are real boneheads as well. And those that built offices downtown and have to look at the dump pile all day, they arent too smart either.
And really, anyone who lives on the western side of the island — such morons for building in the dump district.
People should besmart and realize that the western side of the island is for the dump, and people should all live and work east of Prospect.
Take it easy bud, of all those places, the school is closest.
So were all the other residence that have been there long after the dump! what do you have to say about them???
Are they also genius???
Is it true that CUC also had to close it's offices? Went to pay a bill at Water Authority and the smoke scent was extremely strong inside!
scent?you mean stench?
you mean smoke sickness.
come take photos from airport, because of the weather winds have shifted. hmmm but CINWS not on committee.
Listen, when Mr.Dart purchased that piece of land by the dump, did he not do a case study? Putting a school by a public dump was an idiotic move. The dump was there before Camana Bay and CIS. If you move the dump to Bodden Town, what do you think will happen in 10 years? The whole of South Sound, George Town and perhaps more, will sadly be affected. If a new dump is needed the best logical place to put it will be either out in the ocean off Goat Yard or on an isolated Island. I think the dump should be remediated just where it is now.
He must have gotten approval from the Planning department. It is the planning dept that must ensure compatability of landuses.
Isolated island – ok. Which one exactly?
Those kids are sacrifices fo the higher good of jobs for all, or whatever it is we love about dart.
Great idea Bo Bo throw our garbage in the ocean what an idiot
This is why CIG needs enough personnel rather than cutting them! Let this be an example to you CIG HATERS! I can just imagine how well your business are doing along WB Road lol! CI govt employee
watcha taking about?
Commenting in working hours. No doubt on personal business or sat at work drawing money under false pretenses.
Here is the first candidate who has put themselves up against the wall.
Get rid of the rest as quick.
I'm working at Camana Bay and we can smell the smoke indoors. It's coming through the A/C vents.
That's yer punishment for working there. One of them.
What a hateful jerk!!
One of the incidental "benefits" of the tax-free money…a cancer down the road
i say let the fire burn and get rid of the mountain once and for all
You wish..
Get rid of the dump that way and you'll spend the next 100 years clearing up the pollution not to mention condemning at least three generations of residents to the side effects of the poisons in the smoke. This is not a harmless domestic bonfire, it's a toxic pile of everything you do not want in the air, on the land and in the sea.
Too true! I can see the signs now, "George Town twinned with Chernobyl."
We've been coughing our lungs out all night in Snug Harbour area, at one stage smoke so thick we had to cover our mouths with cloths. Seriously crazy. But big thumbs up to the personnel working so hard to contain this….its a tough and often thankless job…..so thank you!
Wake up PPM, move the dump!!!
To where? GT seems the logical place to me, it is the industrial and business centre of the Island. If you move it anywhere else you start to destroy the little island feeling that is left outside of town and SMB. Also, as all the comments have said, the wind here tends to go east to west so moving it east will just ensure more inland gets smoked out.
Seriously people. Use your heads for something other than a hatrack.
The two most precious tourism commodities are the North Sound and Seven Mile Beach and the dump is less than a mile from both of them.
And do you really think that a) that they are going to create the same type of fire hazzard with a new solid waste management facility as they would with the George Town Dump; b) that smoke from the east is going to hug the ground all the way from Bodden Town? and c) that the smoke is going to travel due west when the prevailing winds are either from the northeast or southeast, depending on the season?
As someone who goes to CIS I never thought that I would be so dissapointed to miss school.
If I were your parent paying CIS fees I would be DISAPPOINTED with your spelling lessons.
Must be the individualized spelling program. 🙂
This wouldn't happen with the proposed facility in Bodden Town.
No – All of Savannah/Newlands, Prospect, South Sound, George Town, and Walkers Road (including all the schools in that area would be closed if the prevailing wind carried smoke from a landfill fire in the Bodden Town Area.
The only thing that would happen is the Clifton Hunter School, North Side School, Bodden Town School,
Savannah School and probably Red Bay and Prospect Schools would be having the problem and all the residential and other buildings along the way. That school wa set up there in spite of the landfill having been there long before. The land fill really needs to be fixed, but the peoplel in in the middle and eastern district are just as important as CIS. So go figure!!
It will also happen if the dump was in BT
But then the PPM might not do as well in the next election.
And it wouldn't have happened if someone didn't build a school next to the dump
As far as I know Bodden Town has no special chemical make-up that makes it immune to fires. The problem here is not the location of the dump, it is the management of the dump. Picking it up and dumping it somewhere else may bring a temporary relief but without fixing the underlying issue you are going to end up in the same situation eventually.
Except no one suggested picking it up and moving it. The suggestion was covering and remediating the old dump, opening a new one for new rubbish, but a)lined to prevent leaching b) managed to separate out recyclable material c) managed to reduce size and combustion and d) all at o cost to CIG. But why let facts blind you to hate of Dart or narrow self interest, hey?
I think you haven't read the facts, Dart is not going to create a new fancy facility. He will give a bit of a helping hand and then put it back in the hands of the same people who have got the dump to where it is today. Why do you people think that moving the dump anywhere will all of a sudden get the people running it to do their job??
Do you have any idea what it will cost to deal with the GT Dump, Dart was going to pick up the tab for that as part of the deal which was extimated to be over 30 Million Dollars. The cost of the first phase of the new site not including the land was 26 Million it was an administration building with offices a processing building for separating recyclables and the first properly lined pit which would not have leached anywhere. This is what the CIG walked away from. Funny how people put thier trust in the CIG to find a solution for the GT dump on site yet say they cannot trust them to run a brand new site correctly.
No, the new dump will just cause schools in Red Bay and Prospect to close. But at least it will be out of sight and mind of Camana Bay. Rather a silly gamble for Dart to build CIS next to the dump anyway. His plan hasn't panned out yet has it?
Why not have the WTE facility by the dump in GT?
The proposed facility in BT wont be built by dart, but by Govt, which will not happen for another 15 years due to fiscal limits, etc. In the meantime, the hole in the ground proposed by Dart will be filled with garbage and managed by the same donkeys that manage the GT site.
If a fire happens within the (at least) 15 year time period, at least HALF of Cayman will suffer from the smoke, including seven mile beach area, as the prevailing winds are from East-NorthEast, everyone west of the hole in the ground will suffer.
Why is Dart complaining about a dump fire when he built next to the dump?
12:42, you like other commentators on this story fail to see exactly what is happening here, I can only assume you live in BT with your lack of understanding on the subject and your waste of a vote putting someone in as an MLA who will do absolutely nothing in his term as a representative.
So, take a step back, and look at it like this, from an outsiders perspective:
DART bought the land surrounding the dump 20+ years ago with the intention of developing it into what is now Camana Bay. When all the land was purchased all concerned were aware of the dump, its state of affairs and that there would be a game plan to sort it out. The land was purchased on that basis. Its called a contract.
Fast forward 20+yrs and guess what, Camana Bay is being built and the dump is 100 times worse than it was, nothing having been done as was promised in said contract. The problem is so bad that it is unmanageable, its constantly buringn and the chemical leakage to both land, sea and air would put any nation on a blacklist in terms of them OUR pollution.
So guess what? DART on understanding that Government would have sorted it out by now have lent a hand, instead of taking us to court, they propose to build a state of the art waste managment faciltiy. Have you seen how DART builds things? Its the best you can get.
But guess what? BT and King Cow Cod say no to the proposed location because you think it will be a mirror image of what is going on now? How blind or stupid are you? It would be the polar opposite with treatment facilities to seperae glass, wood, plastic and metal whichis then shipped off island..Not a pile of everything like you see now.
Now King Cow Cod wants to waste $1M, which is probably $3M on something we have been told to do for the last 10yrs is ridiculous and a scapegoat for the problem he has no answers to for his beloved BT'ers.
It is completely out of control, it cannot be fixed, they should have remediated 10+yrs ago before Ivan hit us. Tha was the plan given 450 studies ago that we paid for on the issue.
Pull the blinds up, open your eyes, mind and ears AND LOOK AT IT AS OUR PROBLEM, THE WHOLE ISLANDS PROBLEM! Its not a PPM, UDP, BT issue anymore, it has not been for a while.
You know what the first thing a cruse ship sees when pulling into Cayman? A pile of steaming sh*t! We should all be ashamed of ourselves.
King Cow Cod and Mac just spout BS about everything they do not have an answer for. Thats what people do when they no they are out their league, make noise so people look the other way.
At this rate with our current crop, the piers wll destroy SMB and the dump will destroy the NorthSound, ncluding Stinry ity, then ha will we ave to offer? Try finding a job then.
A Caymanian fed up with his Governments BS and his fellow countrymen who actually eat said BS.
Couldn't agree more SSM345. The ignorance and arrogance of MOST people on this Island is pathetic!!
DEAD WRONG. Dart did no undertake to build "state of the art facilities". Simply offered to give land in Bodden Town and line the hole in the ground. Read their website and pamphlets they were handing out, and educate yourself rather than regurgitate the same garbage you have been hearing with no idea of the actual facts. CIG would have to fund and manage the whole thing.
"…that there would be a game plan to sort it out. The land was purchased on that basis. Its called a contract.." – sounds like a "promise", and you know what Uncle Cadion says: "a promise is a comfort to a fool"
I haven't heard Dart complain or comment at all. Whatare you talking about?
No would only have to close………BT Primary. SAV Primary, Red Bay Primary, GT Primary, CI Baptist School, Cayman Prep & High, JG High School, Triple C, Truth for Youth + alll pre-schools west of Bodden Town!!!!
The issue is not where the dump is located, but how it is managed. The point is that a new dump, properly managed, would not catch fire, and the old one, covered with a liner and turf, wouldnt either catch fire or leach into North Sound. However, if we just continue with things the way they are, the GT dump will continue to catch fire, continue to pollute North Sound, and sooner or later will affect our health and our tourist income. The fact that someone suggested the new dump should be in BT is blinding you to the underlying reality.
But who is going to manage the new dump wherever it is correctly? I think we need to privatise it and get some proper management.
If the Bodden Town plan was adopted none of these schools would be affected because a) the dump would not be at the same fire risk and b) the proposed site is much more remote and you know that.
He is too dumb to know that, save your breath!
the plan was exposed to all BT and they saw it, But i dont know if they were capable of comprehending the concept. That is the major problem we face in these islands.
And just last week some on here were advocating a reduction of fire service personel…what happens if we get a a hotel fire now, at this moment?
Uh, we let the dump burn for a bit and go save the people. As it is we better pray for some more rain as the whole thing is on fire and they do not have the means to deal with it.
If a hotel catches fire right 'NOW' we would simply sell the dump to Dart in the 'next 5 minutes', then in the 'following 5 minutes' we would quickly put out the hotel fire, then in the 'following 5 minutes' we would even more quickly use the money that we got from selling Dart the dump, to buy the damaged hotel at a VERY low price…
By the time that 20 minutes passes we will repair the damaged hotel and sell it to Dart at a VERY high price…
Then we would just go to 'Country Western Bar' and have a VERY cold Coors Light, or two, or three…
Seriously dude, this is a waste dump fire, not the Towering Inferno. It's not going anywhere, firefighters aren't in any real danger, and there's plenty of free water in the North Sound. This is what is known in most countries as a daily occurance. Its an inconvenience, not a national disaster.
How many modern hotel fires have you seen? Fire regulations, modern building techniques and staff fire prevention and fighting training have meant that such incidents remain rarer than hens teeth. You can't have a firefighter on very corner, just in case, no more than you can have a paramedic, policeman or doctor.
Keep it in perspective and stop with the small island mentality.
Free Hot dogs?
….a burnt hotel?