SMC: Kemuyang landfill operating normally, fire contained although smoke still visible

SIBU (Nov 17): The Kemuyang landfill here, which caught fire yesterday evening, is operating normally.

Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) deputy chairman Mohammed Abdullah Izkandar Roseley said dumping is carried out at a different cell.

“According to our engineering assistant, the portion on fire is not used for dumping. Our daily dumping is on the other side of that cell. It’s contained but smoke is still visible,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted.

“Today, the engineering assistant will ask the landfill contractor to use excavators to initiate a fire breaker to excavate that portion, so as to prevent the fire from spreading further.”

He noted that subsurface landfill fires are quite typical due to spontaneous combustion caused by gas collection beneath the landfill.

Yesterday, Sungai Merah Fire Station received a report at 4.06pm and firefighters had to travel some 28km to the landfill.

According to Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Sibu Zone 4 chief Andy Alie, the affected area spanned 30 feet by 40 feet.

He said among the main challenges faced by firefighters was the water source was located 1.5km from the landfill.

“Furthermore, the fire is at a slope and the burning depth was more than five feet,” he revealed.

Based on Andy’s feedback, Izkandar said there is a need to look into additional water points at the landfill.

“Due to the large area with sloping and source of fire burning beneath more than five feet, it needs immediate excavating to contain the fire,” he added.