Fire crews extinguish dump blaze in 3 hours
Cayman Islands Fire Service responds to Grand Cayman landfill fire
(CNS) UPDATED: Officials said that the dump blaze that ignited yesterday lunchtime has been successfully extinguished after fire fighters, including off-duty personnel, worked for three hours to bring it under control. “Upon arrival, we found the fire was located on south side of the main landfill at the top access road,” Chief Fire Officer David Hails said. “An area of approximately 100 feet by 300 feet was fully engulfed. Fire officers with the Central and West Bay fire stations immediately took action, with the Frank Sound station on standby in case further assistance was needed.”
Hails said it appeared that the fire started on the surface and there did not seem to be any deep-seated fires. However, officers had continued to check for any possible hot spots that may have developed by using thermal imaging equipment on the site.
Fire crews remained on site overnight to monitor the situation. On Wednesday evening the Department of Environmental Health said the landfill, including the public drop-off area, remained closed until further notice.
The fire started around noon Wednesday, and plumes of smoke caused the Cayman International School to close. The fire service joined forces with the RCIPS helicopter when they were all called to the blaze, using the thermal imaging equipment to assess the fire.
DEH officials had said they hoped the smoke would be eliminated by the end of the day. They also stated in a short release that “all the necessary measures are in place to deal with the situation”, and that a more detailed report would be provided to the public as soon as a full assessment is carried out by the DEH operations team.
It has been some time since the last blaze at the dump after government invested in new equipment and budget constraints were addressed to ensure that the garbage pile was properly managed. However, the facility has been in turmoil for several months now, with the unexplained situation regarding the director, who has been on leave since November.
Category: Environmental Health, Health
Does the man in the photo knows that he won’t live long? He is TOTALY unprotected from smoke, gases and fumes that go directly into his blood stream.
mount trashmore…..a monument to the failure and incompetence of caymanian politicians
Why is that fireman not wearing breathing protection? I thought the new chief would understand health and safety. . .
you wish their bosses would understand. Firemen must be wearing hazmat suites and had secured life time health coverage before accepting the job.
And full protective clothing
CIS students should be issued with gas masks and protective jump suits
Everyone within 1 mile radius at least.
Maybe we could just let it burn for a while and get rid of a huge percentage of it. Wouldn’t less be better than what we have now? Think about it.
thinking might make my hair curly…..
No that wouldn’t be good, as many of the plastics that are in the dump burn as well. The fumes released are toxic to humans, which is why we don’t just burn our garbage instead of stockpiling it in the dump
It was cool! My friends, employees, on the cruise ship said they love it when they arrive to the “Cayman Dump Fire”. Not only can the dump be seen from miles out on arrival, but the fire makes the welcome much more exciting. Keep it up Caymankinds! Maybe a little Jerk Chicken on the on top will make it smell better. but they may be too Jamaican?
Just tell visitors it is Cayman’s active volcano.
A glaring reason why the plans for a proper waste management facility to be moved from the back burner and made more of a priority. It’s just dangerous. The prevailing winds from the ENE don’t help the situation either…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYkKJbtIpC0
For how much longer are our Cayman Governments going to keep kicking this can down the road without deciding to solve the problem of the dump once and for all? An island of this size and potential deserves better.
not until after they all die from cancer.
Still remember the last one spewing dangerous chemical smoke all over the road. Probably lost another year off my life today driving through that…
Just a year!? You seriously under estimate the harm that toxic smoke can cause.
Windows not working in your vehicle?
Yea but no ac
Probably better for you than that jerkweed you smoke
Imagine the guys holding the hoses and how wonderful it must smell to them….. …..
third world…..
No fires in the first or second world????? We are all free to move as we desire.
I wonder who started this dump fire ? Or was this fire started to quiet down the other garbage dump article . That how some Politicians do it when the sh?t hits the fan , they distract but don’t completely get of the subject .
Maybe you should wonder less.
You started it. I started it. All of us who throw away trash started it. Dump fires are the natural consequence of the heat generated during decomposition. Eventually the heat builds enough so that, with enough oxygen, a fire results.
Better management of the landfill may mitigate the potential for fire by limiting oxygen access to methane gas produced by decomposition. But remediating problems which were years in the making will be no easy task.
I know what you said in your comment, but did you read the last sentence of my comment ?
With all the combustible material you have to “wonder” how the fire started?
The dump is the No.1 hazard and environmental issue plaguing us all in Grand Cayman.
I didn’t wonder “how ” I wonder “who” . and read the ballance of my comment an bye .