ST JAMES, Jamaica — Local Government and Community Development Minister, Desmond McKenzie, says that with planned improvements the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) will be better placed to respond to any possible outbreak of fire at the Retirement Disposal Site in Granville, St James.

Speaking at a ceremony to announce redevelopment work at the disposal site on September 13, McKenzie said repairs to 1,500 meters of roadway leading to the site will be done; they will create a designated cell to house tyres; and there will be the  installation of drainage pipes to facilitate the movement of water around the facility.

“Tyres will be treated in a special way because we know the danger that the tyres pose when a fire is on the landfill,” he said.

“The fire brigade is here and the National Water Commission is here and a part of this new dispensation is the installation of three new fire hydrants at separate points across the landfill to assist in case there is a fire,” the Minister added.

Another critical measure announced by the Minister is the installation of a 28,000-gallon water tank equipped with an intake valve to release water “to wet and douse the areas.”

A new dumper truck purchased from the NSWMA’s own revenue was also handed over. The minister said the truck will be based at the disposal site and will help to spread covering material that is necessary to prevent fires on a daily basis.

A trained response team will also be based at the site to check the facility on a daily basis to ensure that fire response mechanisms are put in place when necessary.

“We are not only putting in the systems, the response team will have an all-terrain -vehicle. They will have a closed user group (CUG) telephone system… to ensure that you are in a position to report what is taking place,” McKenzie said.

The minister added that to further minimise the impact of fire, over 100 truckloads of top soil will be provided to cover inactive garbage cells at the dump.

“The areas will not be left exposed any longer. So, once they are finished with an area they cover it and they move on to a different area. There will be no open sites on the facility. The only sites that will be open is the one that is being actively used on a daily basis,” he noted.

The last fire broke out at the disposal site on May 18 this year, with smoke affecting sections of the parish as well as neighbouring Hanover.