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PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs who is also Acting Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment & Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), would like to apologize to the residents of Philipsburg and environs with respect to the Landfill fires that take place from time to time.
The most recent fire event was on Saturday evening 2 May. Windward Roads received a report on Saturday evening at 9.00pm that there was a fire. Crews worked Saturday night up to Sunday morning when the fire was brought under control. They continued with their activities until Sunday afternoon to snuff out any smouldering areas by covering it with dirt.
Up to Monday Windward Roads continued to work to get rid of small fire hotspots under the garbage at the Landfill. 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.
Ministry VROMI notified the Fire Department after 9.00pm on Saturday and the personnel of the Fire Department were on scene until Sunday 5.00am when the containment of the fire was completed by the use of heavy equipment and dirt.
Next to coordinating the containment of the landfill fire, the Fire Department also responded with its own equipment to prevent the fire from spreading too fast and keeping flames low to ensure the safety of Windward Roads personnel.
Based on preliminary reports from eye witnesses, multiple flares were seen in the air on Saturday night and apparently one of them ended up on the landfill and causing 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," Prime Minister Hon. Marcel Gumbs said on Monday.
