Firefighters hoped to have a blaze that burned at the Harrold Road disposal site for most of the weekend under control by today.
According to Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health Ron Pinder, the fire is believed to have been started accidentally by the careless disposal of a cigarette by someone rummaging through material at the dumpsite.
He pointed out that the fire started around 10 pm Friday and was not connected with the underground fire at the landfill, which officials reported two weeks ago had been 90 percent extinguished.
At its worst, the fire engulfed an area of 2.5 to three acres, Mr. Pinder said, consuming mostly household waste and debris.
Fire officials on Sunday confirmed that the blaze had not been completely extinguished, but was substantially “contained.”
Firefighters were on site up to yesterday morning inspecting the smoldering remains of the fire and were expected to return again today to ensure that the blaze had not re-ignited.
Fire services and department of environmental health personnel confronted a more intense situation earlier this year when propane gas cylinders at the construction and demolition area of the Harrold Road facility exploded and ignited an underground fire at the landfill.
Over the weekend smoke emanating from the smoldering debris spread throughout the vicinity of the solid waste disposal site, but officials said that condition was expected to improve by today.
Residents in the area have expressed concern for a number of years that frequent fires and conditions at the dump pose a hazard to their health and property.
According to Mr. Pinder, the long-term solution to the blazes entails reducing the amount of material stored at the site by disposing such debris as quickly as possible, rather than allowing it to accumulate.
He estimated that the new system of disposal, which would incorporate recycling and mulching of debris, could cost up to $7 million.
Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
March 14, 2005
