Fire at dump smokes out city
Fire officials were busy over the weekend and while no one was left homeless, the acrid smell of smoke forced many to leave home. On Saturday, fire broke out at the city garbage site at mile three on the Western Highway. It burned for hours and smoke from the conflagration could be seen bellowing high in the air from as far away as Ladyville. According to Operations Manager at the Fire Department, Michael Middleton, the source of the ignition has not been determined. But whether it was deliberate or not, the burning dumpsite posed a major hazard to many people.
Michael Middleton, Operations Manager
“what exactly happened at the garbage dump, we guess that somebody accidentally lit that fire, maybe by dropping a cigarette or something like that.”
Patrick Jones
“You said accidentally, how did you arrive at that conclusion?”
Michael Middleton
“Because people are in there almost everyday walking through the garbage looking for what I don’t know, smokers or whatever. And I guess somebody just accidentally dropped it.”
Patrick Jones
“How bad was the situation?”
Michael Middleton
“The situation was real terrible. We had a hard time putting out the fire, we tried to put out the fire.”
Patrick Jones
“How dangerous it is for the garbage dump to have been put on fire?”
Michael Middleton
“We see it extremely dangerous as we do not know exactly what chemicals are there burning, because every different material produces different chemicals when they are burned and the smoke produced give off toxic gases and could definitely affect people.”
Middleton says that his men, with the assistance of heavy equipment brought in by the City Council, were able to bring the fire under control on Saturday, although the burning continued throughout Sunday. The site, which was opened over ten years ago, is managed and operated by the Sanitation Department of the City Council. Numerous calls to the Supervisor of the Department for comment on the situation have gone unanswered.
