Millions of gallons of water pumped on garbage dump fire
The latest fire at Belize City’s dumpsite at mile three on the Western Highway has been burning since May fifteenth. While it may simply be a nuisance for some people, for others it is a serious health concern—especially for those residents in the immediate area. All recent efforts to completely put out the blaze have been unsuccessful and this has prompted private and public stakeholders to become a part of the fire fighting efforts. News 5 Jose Sanchez takes a look at the complexity of the task facing the fire department to extinguish the garbage fire while fighting smaller blazes such as the one they encountered today on Faber’s Road.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The fire department’s hands were full today as it had to control a fire on Faber’s Road in addition to the one at the city’s dumpsite. According to veteran fire fighter, Kenneth Mortis, the fire was deliberately set.
Kenneth Mortis, Training Officer, Fire Department
“When we arrived there, the bush fire was so massive that visibility across Fabers Road itself was next to impossible. Our team got into operation extinguishing this blaze after which we were told that this particular fire was intentionally lit by workers who were clearing out an area. This is one of the things that we’re trying to explain to the people. Clearing down your property with garbage and so forth, we have no problem with that but the intentional lighting of fires within city limits is an illegal offence. The size of the lot was too large and normally bush fires of that magnitude, we combine with hose and water, machete and weed whacker and whatever have you to extinguish the blaze in the event that water cannot reach the width of the perimeter.”
Though the Faber’s Road fire was out quickly, the city’s old dumpsite has still been smouldering. Cisco Construction has decided to lend a hand and its dredge to put out the fire.
Francis Woods, Rep., Cisco Construction
“We’re taking a dredge, a big floating water pump and we’re putting it on the canal and we’re pumping with a twelve inch pipe. We’re just basically flooding the dump side.”
Jose Sanchez
“How much water more or less is passing through here?”
Francis Woods
“Roughly about a million gallons every five hours and we’re pumping close to twenty-three, twenty-four hours a day so that’s about five million gallons of water.”
Jose Sanchez
“When did you start pumping the water?”
Francis Woods
“We started about eight o’clock last night and we haven’t shut down—only for servicing since and we hope to keep it going, providing everything works okay. we hope to keep it going till its out.”
While Cisco works on the old dumpsite, the Fire Department has been concentrating on putting out the fire at the new dumpsite which is linked to the old one across fifty acres of trash.
Kenneth Mortis
“The Fire Department’s primary roles is locating and extinguishing hot spots within the dump itself. As you can see, the dump is almost about extinguished. Also, we have a company providing this landfill and this dump will be covered and hopefully relocate it. We’d want to say probably within the next couple days at the most. The rate we are going at is very fast; we’re pushing our guys twenty-four hours around the clock. So we’re hoping it will conclude within the next couple days.”
In addition to Cisco construction, NEMO is also involved.
Philip Willoughby, Belize City NEMO Coordinator
“What NEMO has done, as you can see, we are stockpiling material of which will be used to one, build this road as it goes around to behind Waste Control property, back out to the Western Highway. That’s the goal at this time. The short term objective now is to create a mini roundabout right here so that the trucks can turn after they drop off the materials that is needed to build the road network to go around. And then the additional material will be used to smother these particular areas that is burning right now. Now, I can specifically say that with the support now of the National Emergency Organization, I’m looking just about Tuesday. We will be, to my mind—now I am saying this on the record—about eighty percent well underway in terms of containing, controlling the current dumpsite with the measures that has been developed by the C.E.O., myself and the engineer from the Ministry of Works.”
Jose Sanchez
“It is a massive fire and a massive effort. How do you feel to know that NEMO, the city Council and Cisco Construction are assisting with this?”
Kenneth Mortis
“It’s something that should have been done a long time. I don’t think it should have laid solely on the hands of the Fire Department but, like you said, it’s now a multi-agency task and all hands are welcome and appreciated.”
Jose Sanchez
“Next week?”
Kenneth Mortis
“Next week, I don’t know but we’ll see.”
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
