Fire hits Inayawan landfill

The Inayawan Sanitary Landfill caught fire yesterday which caused alarm around the area on the possible spread of harmful gases.

The Cebu City Fire Department received the fire alarm at 4:52 a.m. which was raised to first alarm status.

The fire, which affected around 3,000 to 4,000 square meters of the landfill, was placed under control at 5:05 a.m. but was declared fire out at 3:57 p.m.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Roylin Maratas, chief investigator, said that scavengers throwing a cigarette butt into the area might have started the fire that spread to the mound of garbage.

Smaller fires experienced later in the day were due to the buildup of flammable gas called methane that can trigger combustion, said Maratas.

“Gibantayan gihapon didto kay magbalik-balik pero gagmay ra gud,” he said, adding that a fire truck is on standby in the area in case of emergency.

He said that setting fire in the area is prohibited but admitted that those who prefer to smoke while in the landfill cannot be controlled. But he reminded scavengers anew to be wary of their cigarette butts and not to throw it to the mounting garbage.

Maratas said that firefighters had a hard time reaching the fire scene since they had to go through the murky water underneath the pile of garbage.

“Dili magpataka og tunob kay malubong nya ka. Maghinay-hinay gyud ka unya mangita og laing kaagian,” he said.

The firemen also had to use certain technique since the landfill might collapse any time.

“If sa ibabaw pasiritan og tubig, mu spread unya sa ilalom sa yuta, mag collapse ang basura, ma disgrasya sila,” said Councilor Dave Tumulak, chairman of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.

The firemen also had to use seawater considering the water crisis that the city is facing. With the use of the “flood pressure pumps” of the city government, the firemen used the sea water nearby. Maratas cited that this year, this is the first time a garbage fire was reported at the landfill.

However, this is not the first time the landfill experienced fire. Several fire incidents were reported years ago with the most serious incident recorded in April 2009.

According to Tumulak, there are fewer possibilities that the fire was “intentional” since the fire started right in the middle of the landfill and, in fact, no one is already permitted to enter the landfill.

“Ang police na ang mag imbestigar ani”, he said.

However, Tumulak admitted that the investigation team is still confused since it is unusual for a natural fire to start at 4 a.m.

Meanwhile, the city government, in coordination with the health sector, alerted nearby clinics in case the fire will continue.

Department of Science and Technology, in coordination with Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will also assess the area for methane gas released by the burning waste.