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View all search resultsJatiwaringin landfill blaze enters third day, sickening more than a hundred
The fire, which broke out at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, had spread across at least 15 hectares by Friday, consuming roughly half of the landfill.
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A water-bombing helicopter drops water on a fire on Wednesday at the Jatiwaringin landfill in Tangerang Regency, Banten. On the second day of firefighting efforts, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) deployed two water-bombing helicopters to help contain the blaze, which had spread across about 15 hectares of the landfill's 33-ha site. Authorities said the fire was caused by a combination of extreme heat and methane gas generated by decomposing waste. (JP/Iqro Rinaldi)
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massive fire has burned for three days at the Jatiwaringin landfill in Tangerang regency, Banten, blanketing nearby neighborhoods in thick smoke and leaving hundreds of residents with acute respiratory infections as firefighters struggle to contain the blaze.
The fire, which broke out at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, had spread across at least 15 hectares by Friday, consuming roughly half of the landfill.
Brig. Gen. Djohan Darmawan, director of Emergency Operations Coordination at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said firefighters had contained about 30 percent of the blaze as of Friday.
"Although around 30 percent of the affected area has been extinguished, strong winds continue to hamper efforts to bring the blaze under control," Djohan said, according to state news agency Antara.
He said firefighting efforts have also been complicated by the landfill's topography, with many hot spots located atop waste mounds 20 to 30 meters high, making them difficult for crews to access. Highly combustible materials buried within the waste mounds have allowed the fire to continue smoldering, complicating efforts to extinguish the blaze.
Djohan said BNPB had deployed two water-bombing helicopters to reinforce efforts to contain the blaze, while dozens of firefighters continued working around the clock on the ground.
In addition to dousing the fire, crews are using excavators to dismantle water-soaked mounds of waste, enabling firefighters to reach hot spots buried deep within the landfill and to prevent the fire from reigniting.
