National Fire Service Cautions About Open Fires

On Monday, we told you about Valeriano Pop, a Bella Vista resident fighting for his life after receiving third degree burns to seventy-five percent of his body. Pop was burning garbage outside of his home when it exploded and caused his injuries. Today, the media spoke with Station Supervisor of the National Fire Service, Kenneth Mortis who says that open fires are serious hazards.

Kenneth Mortis

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, National Fire Service

“The nineteen-year-old indeed was burning garbage and this goes against all warnings that both the fire department and the Department of Environment always encourage the general populace when conducting something of this nature. While it might seem appropriate to dispose of your garbage via burning based on your location and the garbage collecting routine, it is not always the best move. When you burn garbage, there are a ton of explosives in that garbage itself – a disposed battery, a compressed canister such as an empty spray can or something of that sort – you have no idea of what you are burning. And because of the lack of education behind doing these things, you don’t know the dangers that you are exposing yourself to. Unfortunately, the young man suffered approximately seventy-five percent burns to his body and I can only wish him a speedy recovery. However, as we’ve always cautioned, be careful and be mindful how you want to burn these garbage. It may look like garbage, but there’s a whole lot of chemicals in them that you might not know of. He didn’t have a what if plan in place. We know that he had a hose, but that wasn’t enough. His proximity body-wise to the pilot being burnt was way too close. Again it’s an unfortunate situation, but those are some of the dangers that we expose ourselves to when conducting these types of burns.”