Firefighters in Linden have been working around the clock to put out a massive fire that erupted last evening in a valley that is bordered by four sawmills in Amelia’s Ward, Linden.
The fire started early Wednesday morning in an area where sawmill operators have been dumping their waste materials. By nightfall, it grew into a massive inferno, despite earlier attempts by fire fighters to extinguish the blaze that posed a significant threat to three of the nearby sawmills.
When News Source visited the scene of the fire this morning, firefighters were still on the ground trying to completely put out the blaze.
Mayor of Linden, Sharma Solomon told News Source that with tremendous support from companies in and around the town that provided equipment and machinery, the Linden Fire Department was able to contain the fire, and prevent it from spreading to the sawmills.
“It took over an entire gully in the Amelia’s Ward community threating several sawmills. This was a gully where many waste materials for several decades have been deposited, very deep, almost 250ft in terms of depth,” Solomon said.
Troy Fiedtkou, one of the sawmillers in the area, told News Source that the fire may have been started as a result of the heat in the area.
“Is not nobody start this fire. After a time when you putting the wood on top of one another, it does generate a heat at the bottom. Usually, you see a steam but it don’t really light, but yesterday, it end up light,” Fiedtkou explained.
He said the fire started closer to the Waaldijk Sawmill, and though it posed a threat to all of the sawmills in the area, none was damaged.
Vickram Kissoon, who has been operating the Waaldijk Sawmill for the past two years, told News Source that he was out of the district when he was informed Wednesday that a small fire had ignited in the valley, near his sawmill.
Kissoon said he immediately called the Fire Service, and it responded promptly dispatching a team to the location. However, he said despite attempting to extinguish the fire, it grew into a massive inferno.
He said the firefighters battled the blaze all night with support from the community.
“All night, all night we out here. And a lot of other people came and assisted us with their truck. We got reasonable help from other residents,” Kissoon said.
Kissoon said despite the magnitude of the fire, his sawmill suffered no damages.
Mayor Solomon told News Source that the dumping of waste material in the valley is an environmental and safety hazard. He said the Linden Mayor and Town Council will be working with the saw millers and the Environmental Protection Agency to rectify the issue.
“So far they have managed to contain that sort of inferno that we saw last evening, they have bring it to a manageable state but not without its continued threat. I think, what we have been saying to those sawmill owners, the way they are depositing waste, we have had cause at the municipality to warn and caution those sawmill owners. However, what we have gotten from them is that our dump site, which is at the Kara Kara mines area is now adequate for them to deposit such waste,” the Mayor explained.
Another waste disposal site has been identified. The Council is hoping to have the site placed into operation soon, to allow the sawmill operators and other companies within the town, to dump their non-hazardous waste.
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