Fire crews remain as dump continues to smoulder

(CNS): Hopes that the landfill fire in George Town would have been completely extinguished by Monday have been dashed, as firefighters remain at the site, continuing to tackle hot-spots across the smouldering garbage heap. Officials said progress is being made with the top section of the dump capped, smoke at a minimum and many deep pockets of fire put out. But there are still other areas where fires are igniting from deep inside the rubbish pile.

Some seven days after this latest blaze ignited, Chief Fire Officer Paul Walker said the focus remained on extinguishing all of the deep seated pockets of fire, which were caused by the scale, spread and intensity of the original blaze.

“Intensive and meticulous work by crews have helped to minimise the chance of re-ignition,” he said. “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,” he said, as he thanked everyone involved.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Health said it was maintaining the regular collection routes for household waste. Officials there said they hope the landfill site will be operating as normal from the middle to end of this week.