City under smoke cover
LAUTOKA City was under siege from acrid smoke and ash from the burning Vunato rubbish dump, according to an article published by
The Fiji Times on November 2, 1997.
With an overtime ban imposed by the Fiji Public Service Association, the National Fire Authority was unable to assign offduty firemen to fight the blaze.
Lautoka businesses were outraged by the lack of action to control the blaze and claimed that businesses were affected.
Two weeks prior, a similar fire forced at least four companies situated near the dump to cease trading for the day.
The Fiji Times quoted Lautoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Natwarlal Vagh as saying smoke from the burning dump was choking citizens and hampered business in the city.
Mr Vagh blamed both the NFA and the Lautoka City Council for the blaze, saying they should work out a way to address the problem.
The LCC ceased to function as a fire preventative authority when NFA took over firefighting responsibility three years prior, and Mr Vagh said it was unacceptable for the city council to simply blame the NFA.
“This is a measure of their lack of concern for the citizens,” he said.
“There is no early detection system and no apparent capability.
“We cannot understand why the fires are allowed to develop into large blazes requiring special pumps.”
Mr Vagh said if the Vunato fire was an indication of the NFA’s capability, then citizens needed to be concerned with the safety of their property and that children and old people would be affected by respiratory problems caused by the smoke.
Town clerk Jamir Khan said NFA should make arrangements to fight the fire.
“The council used to attend to such fires immediately when it operated the fire preventative body,” he said.
Divisional Medical Officer Western Dr Yogendra Narayan said it was difficult to say what effects the smoke and ash would have.
“The sensible thing to do would be to cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief or mask if you find your throat and lungs irritated or you are susceptible to asthma and if the ash gets in the eyes, wash them with plain water,” he said.
Divisional Fire Officer Western Asaeli Malewa said rubbish dump fires were usually attended to by off-duty firemen because they spent long hours at the dump.
He said the NFA had arranged pumps and hoses to fight the dump fire, but the off-duty officers were refusing to work even though the fire had been burning for days.
“I have informed headquarters about the ongoing situation,” he said.
Public Service Association general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry said he had reminded members of the fire brigade not to fight any fire until they were equipped with protective clothing and oxygen masks.
Mr Chaudhry said the men were exposed to an extremely unhealthy and contaminated environment which posed a grave danger to their health.
“They are not going to work under such degrading conditions,” Mr Chaudhry said.
“The men must be properly clothed and fitted out. The National Fire Authority and the Lautoka City Council will have to sort out who will provide the necessary gear.”
Mr Chaudhry said a number of firemen were complaining of respiratory and skin problems as a result of the lack of adequate equipment and protective gear.