Dump fire under control

| 31/08/2009

(CNS): A fire that started yesterday (30 August) around 6:00 pm at the George Town landfill is now under control. However Department of Environmental Health (DEH) officials say that it is still generating significant smoke.Both the Fire Services and DEH staff worked throughout Sunday night to control the blaze. This morning (Monday), the fire officers and DEH staffers are working towards completely extinguishing all remaining hot spots. Unfortunately, this process does create significant smoke, a condition that is expected to continue throughout the day.

“In the past, landfill fires have been caused by spontaneous combustion in the landfill itself, but preliminary investigations suggest this one was sparked by hot coals or similar items entering the landfill’s drop-off area,” said DEH Director Roydell Carter.

Due to its proximity to public areas, the department does have procedures in place to minimize landfill fires. However, in this instance, it was public action that likely started the blaze.
 

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  1. tim ridley says:

    Probably the biggest threat to the land values along the Seven Mile Beach and in the vicinity is the toxic waste environmental disaster waiting to happen, that also now looks highly unattractive from the North Sound and the by pass, not to mention from the higher floors of business offices and cruiseships. 

    The cost of sorting this out is very large and cannot pay for itself. A community service charge on properties would be a sensible start to raising the funds to deal with the problem.

  2. Anonymous says:

    oh speaking of money troubles for the cayman islands

    you know what would be a great way for the government to earn some money?

    to sort out that fucking dump and start RECYCLING. can’t recycle? you know how much companies pay for used materials such as batteries, metals and so on? especially since it’s cheaper than brand new materials? better than letting them sit there and stagnate.

    also, they need to start seperating organic waste and composting it for sale to the public as natural fertilizer that is a renewable source of income. just have one garbage day pick up organics and another the rest.

     

    kill multiple birds with one damn stone

  3. Anonymous says:

    Considering they burn all these drugs etc down there which obviously gives off toxic gases anyway, we should have asked everybody to shut their windows for the day and let the fire burn it’s course. That would have reduced the size of the mountain.

    Let’s not even begin to moan about the environmental effects because not one of you has an argument when you’re driving your V8 4×4 everyday even if you’re only dropping the kids at school half a mile up the road.

    We could offset the environmental damage by taxing all oversize vehicles on the school run or coming into georgetown each day and giving the money to environmental projects and to burying the rest of mount trashmore on Cayman Brac.

  4. Anonymous says:

    All those weed heads employed at the Dump starting these fires.

    Employees of the Dump and persons entering the Dump should be made to leave all flamable material at the Gate.

  5. Uncivil Servant says:

    Yeah, they started burning the Civil Service pension money, then suddenly realised they better hold on to it a little while longer

  6. Anonymous says:

    This is probably extremely naive of me, but why do we keep putting out these fires?