Mandela dump site blaze spreads while some sections doused
Stabroek News
December 4, 2002
The fire at the Mandela Landfill Site, burning since Saturday, continued to move to other areas as some sections were put out by the Guyana Fire Service and employees of the Mayor and City Council.
Meanwhile, the M&CC was yesterday seeking a larger water pump to put into action today to flood areas likely to ignite, City Mayor Hamilton Green said. The flames were blue in colour, an indication of pure methane gas formed from the decomposition of the garbage.
Green yesterday told Stabroek News that the three pumps obtained from the Civil Defence Commission had been put into full use but as soon as one area was put out the flames moved to other sections.
The task of putting the fire out was being coordinated by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and it was evident that M&CC employees were working shoulder to shoulder with the firemen yesterday, although some appeared to have been improperly clothed to deal with the task at hand.
Yesterday, too, M&CC employees were seen excavating sections of the Princes Street canal to provide a reservoir of water for the pumps.
It was noted that the smoke was less in the North East La Penitence area, Princes Street, Lodge and the Meadowbrook area as the fire moved westward of the dump site. However, a stench pervaded the air amidst an infestation of flies.
It was not clear how the fire started but residents yesterday told Stabroek News that they want relief not only from the smoke but the flies which increase when it rains.
There were two versions as to how the fire began. Green said that a man was trying to get rid of a marabunta (wasp) nest at the western end of the fence of the National Gymnasium which spilled over to the landfill site and the other report was that workers were using a welding machine at the gymnasium and the sparks flew onto the dump site. However, workers at the gymnasium told Stabroek News that they had not done any welding there over the past fortnight.
It was obvious, however, that a cluster of palm trees found east of the trench which separated the landfill site and the National Gymnasium had been charred.
