Fire Chief says that tyre business, and not sanitary landfill, was site of today’s massive fire, which took six hours to control
A fire in the vicinity of the Cooks Sanitary Landfill, which caused thick plumes of smoke to billow into the skies, had firefighters battling for almost six hours.
Early today, REAL News correspondent George Wehner recorded the fire from the Scotts Hill area, while the black smoke could be seen as far north as Paradise View, according to one resident.
But, contrary to reports, says Fire Chief Elvis Weaver, it was not the landfill that was actually on fire but a nearby business – We Construction – which deals with the recycling of tyres and old vehicles.
Accordingly, firefighters had to work earnestly with employees of the business to clear tyres from the fire’s path.
The blaze reportedly started sometime after 7 a.m. today, March 4, and the Fire Department deployed a number of methods to bring it under control.
Fire Chief Weaver says the fight was a collaborative effort that also involved officers from the All Saints Fire Station and private entities, which supplied water trucks.
Weaver says that foam was also used in an attempt to dampen the blaze, but that was not very effective. Accordingly, the Fire Department later decided to use backhoes to cover areas where the fire continued raging.
The public has been very concerned that fires of this size, at this time, will do massive damage because of the scarcity of functioning fire tenders and the water shortage across the country.