PHOTO: Donovan Barton-Hobbs
THE toxic smoke has finally cleared the landfill site near Empangeni where a fire broke out last week Friday.
Burning for almost four days, local residents complained of the health threat posed by excessive toxic gas emitted at the dumpsite.
Further to this, both the N2 and John Ross Highway were also affected as motorists experienced poor visibility on Sunday afternoon.
uThungulu District Municipal Manager, Mandla Nkosi, confirmed that the municipality was investigating the cause of the fire.
It is still unknown what started the blaze, but according to ZFPA Manager Tony Roberts it could have either been caused by spontaneous combustion or someone recklessly starting the fire.
MONDAY 9 SEPTEMBER
REPORTS of insufficient fire foam on uMhlathuze fire trucks over the weekend question the City’s ability to effectively deal with a disaster.
This after fire fighters battled to contain a blaze at the uThungulu District Landfill site near Empangeni since Friday night.
Thick plumes of smoke continued to billow from the dumpsite on Monday afternoon with local residents complaining of the possible health threat as a result of excessive toxic gas emissions.
Water bombers were reportedly not dispatched despite a quote being provided by Zululand Fire Protection Association (ZFPA) to uThungulu District Municipality.
According to ZFPA Manager Tony Roberts the fire could have either been caused by spontaneous combustion or someone setting the site ablaze.
‘Six loads of water would have been needed, costing the municipality almost R100 000. I gave them the quotation and did not get a response,’ said Roberts.
Sandy Camminga of the Richards Bay Clean Air Association said the latest incident highlighted the serious shortcomings within the City’s Fire and Rescue Services.
‘This is an industrial City with the potential for a catastrophic incident. We would urge the City to prioritise the need for a new, adequately staffed and equipped, fire station to ensure that the City can effectively deal with any emergency.
‘We trust that this incident will be evaluated by the City’s Disaster Management Advisory Forum, and appropriate corrective and preventative measures will be put in place,’ said Camminga.
Empangeni farmer Warren Ric-Hansen said they had battled with hovering thick smoke over the weekend.
‘My pets and staff had to be moved to grounds where the smoke was not as thick. My staff also remained on standby throughout the weekend as we did not know how the fire was going to spread,’ he said.
uThungulu District Acting Municipal Manager MNT Xulu said they were investigating the cause of the fire at the landfill site.
‘With regards to claims by ZFPA that their services were not utilised – this was owing to the fact that the local Fire and Rescue team were on site very quickly and were fully capable of extinguishing the type of fire that we were dealing with.
‘With landfill fires the methane burns from the inside, which requires water to penetrate internally and soil to cover it, to prevent the possibility of flare-ups,’ said Xulu.
