The fire at Mangrove landfill appears to be under control.
Around five hours after public and private personnel were alerted to the blaze, president of the Waste Haulers Association Anderson Cherry said it looked like the hard work of the assembled men and women had paid off.
“We received the call around 5:30 a.m from Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) management to help. I was able to galvanise three other private waste haulers who responded quickly and right now, the fire is under control,” he said.
The private haulers worked to load topsoil onto the burning tyres under the supervision of the fire service. Chief fire officer Errol Maynard said water and foam were not the best choices given the intense nature of the blaze and given the fact soil was in such abundance nearby. He reported they were called in around 6:30 a.m
The job was a team effort as, alongside the private haulers and fire service, the police force provided security; the Barbados Defence Force, Roving Response Team and St James Central District Emergency Organisation went into the nearby communities to ascertain how they were being affected and SSA personnel directed the landfill operations.
Minister of the Environment Trevor Prescod thanked the waste haulers as well as CO Williams for their response. He said officers from the Ministry of Health would be deployed along the West Coast to see to the health of those in that area and while saying there was no evacuation programme in place for nearby Arch Hall and Hoyte’s Village, remained cautious as to how the smoke may affect people nearby as the day wore on. (CA)
