Landfill fire out, being monitored

The fire at the George Town Landfill has been extinguished as of noon Saturday.

Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush said fire crews stood down at that time, but a small crew remains on site to monitor the landfill in case of any flare ups and are in a position to address them quickly if they do, in fact, occur.

He again expressed his appreciation to the men and women of the Fire Service for their professionalism and care for the community.

“A full debriefing will be held early next week to identify what went right and areas for improvement so we can continue to improve and make the Cayman Islands better,” Mr. Bush said.

Landfill fire contained, almost out

Fri Feb 14 2014 12:50pm

Firefighters battling the blaze at the George Town Landfill should be able to stand down this weekend once there are no longer any signs of the conflagration.

As of Friday morning, firefighters had worked more than 50 hours, non-stop, since early Wednesday morning.

Deep wells were successfully drilled, supplying ample water to squelch the flames. Heavy equipment operators, under the direction of fire crews, are working with the Fire Services Department to expose the deep-rooted flames, which are estimated to be around 25-feet deep.

Ministry of Home Affairs Chief Officer Eric Bush, who has been at the scene daily said, “I am happy with the progress made since Wednesday. I commend the brave men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to serve and protect our country and its people.

“It’s obvious we need to make some improvements to responding to dump fires and adequately supplying our officers with properly functioning safety equipment, which UK Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor Peter Holland pointed out after his review of the Fire Service team two weeks ago. We will learn from this and make the necessary improvements!”

The fire began in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 12 February, 2014, although the source of the fire is still unknown and is under investigation.

The fire was contained to unprocessed trash and at no times was in danger of spreading to dumped tyres or vehicles.

Mr. Bush and Ministry of Health Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn and stakeholders will meet next week for a debriefing of the events surrounding the fire and efforts to put it out.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kiran Kumar said the Health Services Authority has been monitoring carefully for any occurrence of health problems due to smoke inhalation since the fire started. So far no illness related to smoke has been reported.  Minister of Health Hon. Osbourne Bodden said he was relieved that there were no reported cases of illness related to the smoke, and apologised to the public for any inconvenience or discomfort they may have experienced during the past few days.

Minister Bodden also praised the work of the firefighters and Department of Environmental Health staff.

“These hard working, and committed, civil servants certainly rose to the occasion once again and proved to our country their dedication to service beyond self,” said Minister Bodden.  “I want to personally thank them for their hard work. It wasn’t pleasant work, but they got the job done. We have learned many lessons through this experience and now it’s time to move on and look ahead.”

The fire reinforces the decision of the Ministry to form a multi-agency steering committee to spearhead the development of the Cayman Islands’ planned waste management system.

“I must re-iterate what I said before. These fires only serve to underscore the fact that it is of critical importance to the country that we find a sustainable solution to waste management,” he said.

The Committee held its first meeting on 22 January, 2014. Its remit is to provide Government with their best technical advice, take responsibility for the business issues associated with the project, approve budgetary and procurement strategy, define and realize benefits and monitor the risks, quality and timeliness of the comprehensive waste management system.

PHOTOS:

Firefighters spray water on the conflagration at the George Town Landfill Friday morning. Photo: Eric Bush

Heavy equipment was brought in the help stop the landfill fire. Photo: Eric Bush

Thu Feb 13 2014

Fire Service personal continue to work around the clock to extinguish the fire at the George Town Landfill. The fire is contained to the landfill area and is not an imminent threat to any buildings or homes. Fortunately, the area where the tyres are housed is not in danger of being caught on fire. On Thursday the winds shifted causing the engulfed area to shift from the west to the east. The fire is deep routed in the mound of garbage which had not yet been processed. The mound needs to be turned over to expose the fire so crews can extinguish it with water. Unfortunately there is a limited amount of water and equipment at this time. Fire crews will stay on site on a shift basis until the fire is totally extinguished, which is likely to take a few more days.

Although there is a horrible smell of smoke right down to the West Bay Road in the Captain’s Bakery area Thursday (13) it would appear the dump fire is still being contained.

Even though fire officials yesterday said the fire was under control because it was deep beneath the trash waste as soon as it was  extinguished in one place it re-caught in another. It was an ongoing battle all day.

Areas around the fire have been saturated to prevent it from spreading into additional on-site waste.

The Environmental Health Department offered its apologises to the public for any inconvenience that may have been caused by the fire and the minister emphasized his gratitude to the hardworking firecrews.

From 6am this morning (Wed 12) local fire crews on Grand Cayman were back at the George Town Landfill fighting another fire.

The fire from a smoulder turned into a blaze that the fire fighters have said they have under control.

The fire is located in the heart of the landfill itself rather than in any of the other areas.

iNews Cayman will keep you updated.

UPDATE: All off duty fire personnel to report to the GT Landfill, evacuations ordered

Smoke continues to blow across the George Town area due to the fire at the George Town Landfill. Acting Chief Fire Officer Rosworth McLaughlin says “Any member of the public who is being affected by the smoke is advised to evacuate the area until further notice.”