CAYMAN ISLANDS (GIS) – Landfill Fire Update at 8am on Monday, 16 March 2020.

A great deal of progress has been made by Cayman Islands Fire Service (CIFS) and Department of Environmental Health (DEH) crews over the weekend at the George Town Landfill over the weekend.

Capping operations on the top section are now complete. Many deep seated pockets of fire have been extinguished and access gained to waste in the north-west corner adjacent to Eastern Tibbetts Highway.

Smoke from the site is minimal with a low chance of flare up producing small amounts of smoke as excavation and damping down operations continue throughout the early part of this week.

Chief Fire Officer, Paul Walker QFSM, stated, “Our main focus now is to fully extinguish these deep seated pockets of fire which, given the scale, spread and intensity of the blaze, were to be expected. Intensive and meticulous work by crews have helped to minimise the chance of re-ignition.”

He continued, “The impact on residents, businesses and motorist in the vicinity is now minimal and I expect it to remain that way for the remainder of the week. We thank the public and local businesses for their ongoing support and understanding throughout this protracted and challenging incident. My thanks go to all CIFS, DEH and RCIPS colleagues for their continued dedication and professionalism over the past week and their commitment to see this through to a full and final conclusion.”

DEH colleagues are maintaining collection routes for household waste. It is hoped that the landfill site will be operating as normal from the middle to end of this week. A further update on progress will be provided on Wednesday, 18 March 2020.