Three weeks on, quarry fire finally out
Site of Bodden Town quarry fire, Lake Destiny Drive
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Fire Service and the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) have now confirmed that three weeks after it first ignited, a fire at a Bodden Town quarry was extinguished on Thursday, 18 October. The owner of the quarry did not begin work until Wednesday, 17 October, to meet the terms of a CIFS permit to store bulk combustible materials and an abatement notice from DEH because, officials said, his excavator was under repair. Once work began, the fire flare-ups and smouldering areas unearthed were immediately extinguished, the fire service said.
The fire service permit, which was served in early October, required the owner to dismantle the substantial piles of rubbish that prevented officers from safely and immediately extinguishing the fire.
Meanwhile, the abatement notice, filed in late September following a complaint from a member of the public, called for the owner to stop the smoke and have the site cleared of debris and fenced off. Both the permit and the notice required work to be complete by 22 October.
CIFS said that because the quarry is in a remote location at the end of Lake Destiny Drive, there has never been a risk to the surrounding neighbourhood, but both departments routinely checked nearby homes to assess the reach of any smoke from the fire.
Category: Local News
CIFS has been complicit with business owner fires and insurance scams for years – needs a complete overhaul, and some corruption arrests.
So his escavator was being repaired, huh? Does this mean he only have one escavator? Does it also mean that he lost business during the entite period? A big company like Salburious Ltd only have one escavator? Come on now, do you really think people is so stupid? Why didnt the quarry rent a escavator then? Better yet, why didnt government do so and then bill the quarry owner? After all the law was being breached and the respective gov departments have a duty to enforce it and to protect and serve the people. Everyone need to realize that this situation could repeat it self and if not handled properly now could result in them, too, being poisioned by toxic smoke.
Private sector making more work for our civil service and then complaning about the cost of Government.
Apologies for interrupting your domino tournament. Won’t let it happen again.
Wow! Remote? Not even 1/4 a mile from my back yard and you call that remote?! You all, this is an obvious attempt to cover up the slackness of DEH and the CIFS along with other govt. department. You all allowed that fire to burn for almost a month notwithstanding a signed petition from the majority of residents on Lake Destiny Drive. Persons have became ill due to the continuous smoke inhalation and have supporting medical records to prove. They sent multiple e-mails all the way up to the Ministry and even after all of that, you still let the fire burn out whilst they suffered! You think it ends here? Think again!
“there has never been a risk to the surrounding neighbourhood”
Should it be taken as an insult to injury or, pardon my language, the CIFS spokesperson is that dumb?