Schools and roads closed as dump fire rages
(CNS): The ongoing blaze at the vehicle recycling area at the George Town dump has now seen schools closed or relocated, sports days cancelled and roads also partially shut to traffic. Police had closed the southbound lanes of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, between the Cayman International School and AL Thompson roundabouts, though it re-opened around lunch even though the fire was still raging.
Meanwhile, in addition to the closure of Cayman International School and cancellation of its pre-school sports day, the education ministry said that the sports day at George Town Primary was stopped early. Parents collected some children from the event at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex while others were relocated to the John Gray school gymnasium nearby to wait for the school buses.
“It is unfortunate that the GTPS sports day has ended earlier than expected,” said Tammy Hopkins, the director of Education Services. “While we fully understand that there may be inconvenience caused as a result of this, student safety is our priority. Based on an advisory by the Fire Service and Department of Environmental Health, our staff took proactive measures to prevent any potential negative effects on our students and staff who may inhale the smoke fumes.”
Hopkins said research shows smoke inhalation can cause irritation to children’s breathing passages and can cause respiratory problems. “While students are scheduled to be at the school’s sports day, we want to ensure that no student or staff access the compound for the rest of the day,” she added.
The Transition Unit located on the GTPS site was also closed today. Regular classes are still scheduled to resume on Tuesday for GTPS, JGHS and the CIFEC.
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Category: Education, Local News
I am curious about the international school. Its founders and board of directors must be aware of potential health hazards to its pupils since the buildings are literally at the foot of the dump.
School administrators could potentially expose themselves to liability claims. If they would allow children back to school premises without conducting a proper safety inspection, they could later face negligence claims. Health hazards might not be obvious to a naked eye, since they could be microscopic, but hide in a/c ventilations system, walls surface or just about anything inside and outside the school.. Recent as well as previous fires call for an independent, certified and licensed safety inspection.
The people of the Cayman islands are the big fools here. They keep expecting their current king to be smart enough to do things that need to be done when all evidence shows he is not. None of Caymanian government people have enough schooling to work in Burger king but they are the best they have so they are large and in charge. Plan accordingly.
You are an absolute bigot 7.09am
And still not one peep out of the Minister or Premier..John John and Alden..Where unna at?
Forget the dump! Build the port!
All the MORONS are off fiddling, burning our money while the dump burns our trash. Too bad some of them are not in it.
6.27 what an evil post.
At 6.27pm You all still not being allowed to run.
Just another day in Absurdistan. Apologies Ambassador of Absurdistan.
What do you want from us?
I am not the original want us to live up to our potential as a first class well run first world economy and community. One operated on the soundest of moral and legal principles, where our civil service is celebrated as being drawn from the finest and most capable in our community. A place where laws are enforced without fear or favour. Where our people can advance and succeed, and where there is no basis for anyone, local or foreign, to call us absurd. That is what I want. To start, we have to recognise that if we do not want to be taken for idiots, we have to stop giving people reason to think we are idiots.
1.38pm “we have to stop giving people reason to think we are idiots” True And we can start by stop giving status to so many who don’t really care about us but just want to live here with the same rights as the locals.
Big shout out to our Cayman Island Fire & Emergency Services. Thank You!!
they are just dong their job. The person who baked bread for their breakfast deserves big thank you.
Big shout out to all the kids who will die from cancer when their teenagers
When their teenagers what?
The air quality off Walkers Road near the schools, walking track and sports fields is very poor this morning.
CIG are having breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Liar.Liar. Pants on fire.925
it has been said 1000 times. Fix the dump!
I have traveled the world, believe me.
But this place is absolutely pathetic..
In every way imaginable.
And what does that make you that you need to share that with such a pathetic place ?
More pathetic ?
Exactly
@7.06 and you chos .e the place thats ‘absolutely pathetic.’.Guess that makes you an absolute idiot.
But the beach is nice. The island is nice. The third world people who run this place are incompetent and disrespectful of life. This is Cayman.
@ 7.00 but first world bigots like you are soon going to be asked to cause trouble somewhere else. Just a matter of time.
DuWayne Seymour missing in action…. Need I say more
Where’s CIG? Nowhere to be found. Cruise ships were in today and only God knows how the fire looked from there. Multiple school sports days were cancelled and CIS students probably have the worst immune systems because this is like the 1000th time they’ve had to deal with dump fires, but Alden doesn’t care, disgusting.
CIG has known for years that THE DUMP is a ticking time bomb but nothing is ever done. 2 decades of lip service to the problem.
Criminal negligence
So which idiot decided to build a school so close to the dump?
Actually, which idiot built his school and then decided to move the dump close to that school under the pretence that he wanted to fix the dump? What is the true reason he wanted to took charge of the dump?
What? He moved the dump closer to the school? Think you must have been downwind of the fire and sucking in some serious fumes.
They have no clue and no care ,sad but so true,
Hopefully this situation pushes Decco to follow through on their 2020 commitment cover the main mound.
You think they are the holdup? That’s rich.
So let’s hide it and pretend that it is doing us no harm by effectively throwing a big blanket over it?
The remediation plan provided for methane piping and venting and a lined trench and berm to limit leaching but don’t let the facts get in the way. Or of course we could go the route of complete extraction- look forward to your thoughts on what we do with all the content, too wet to burn in a WTE, and how we deal with all the released gases. Or how we pay for that little exercise – would make the civil service pension hole look like a pot hole.