Sixty Firefighters Battle Major Blaze at Cardboard Manufacturing Company

JAMAICA Dozens of firefighters have been pulled from several Corporate Area stations to fight a massive blaze at the Jamaica Packaging Industries at 154 Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston. Public Relations Officer at the Jamaica Fire Brigade Emeleo Ebanks says some 60 fire personnel were responding. In addition, he said employees from Petrojam were helping with two water trucks and water was being pulled from the nearby sea to put out the massive blaze at the cardboard manufacturing plant. «There are mounds of papers and they›re tightly stacked so once the fire gets into this location, you have to actually tear the piles apart to get the fire out,» Ebanks said. He said firefighters were using a range of techniques with the nozzle to extinguish the blaze, now brought under control. Employees of the cardboard manufacturing company also rushed with buckets to pour on rolls of paper to prevent them from igniting. In the meantime, firefighters were trying to keep a gas cylinder cool as it too was under threat. The fire has caused a major traffic congestion on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston. The police said traffic heading into Kingston via Marcus Garvey Drive was restricted and people

should avoid the area.

The fire is reported to have started after strong winds sent sparks flying from the back of an old truck in which garbage was being burnt. The old truck was abandoned adjacent to the cardboard manufacturing company.

(Jamaica Gleaner)