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PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs in his capacity as Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI issued an apology to residents of Philipsburg and surrounding areas for the intermittent landfill fires that have blanketed the sky with smoke.
The most recent fire was on Saturday, May 2. Eye-witnesses reported seeing multiple flares in the air on Saturday night. Apparently one flare ended up on the landfill and caused the fire.
"Government is working diligently to solve the problem related to the landfill. Once again, my apologies to the residents on the Pondfill, and surrounding environs in the Philipsburg area for this inconvenience," Gumbs said in a press statement.
According to the statement, there is still a high risk of the fire flaring back up at the location of areas that are not covered, but all concerned are working to make sure that this does not happen.
Windward Roads Infrastructure N.V., charged with managing the landfill, received a report on Saturday around 9:00pm about the fire.
VROMI notified the Fire Department. Fire personnel were on scene until the fire was contained with the use of heavy equipment and dirt around 5:00am on Sunday.
The Fire Department also worked to prevent the fire from spreading too fast and keeping flames low to ensure the safety of Windward Roads personnel.
Windward Roads continued to get rid of small hotspots at the Landfill on Monday.
