TEAM HERALD
VASCO: A major fire at the garbage site at Headland Sada, Vasco forced many residents from the area to vacate their houses on Sunday night.
Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Fiola Rego informed Herald that the garbage caught fire late Sunday evening and 10 fire tenders (six from Vasco fire service and four from MPT) were pressed into service to extinguish the fire.
“The cause of the fire was due to the formation of methane gas in the garbage dump. We used 10 fire tenders to douse off the fire but the fire re-ignited on Monday afternoon and about 12 fire tenders from Vasco Fire Service, MPT, Goa Shipyard and Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd were used to control the fire,” she informed.
Speaking to Herald, the fire officials informed that the fire could not be extinguished due to strong winds. “The only way to control the fire is by dumping mud over the garbage which will stop the supply of oxygen to the fire,” added the official.
Residents from the area had to vacate their houses as thick smoke entered their homes. Some residents said they had to spend the night in the homes of relatives and friends at Vasco.
South Goa Collector N D Agarwal, who had returned from a trip to Mumbai, rushed to the garbage site at Headland Sada.
“When I got the news that garbage at Headland Sada had caught fire, I was in Mumbai on a personal visit,” stated Agarwal. “From Mumbai, I was instructing the MMC engineer and chairperson to take expert advice on how to extinguish the fire,” he added.
Agarwal said the fire will not die out by flushing water as the heat generated by garbage will dry off the water and garbage will catch fire again. “It’s a wastage of water and manpower, you require a JCB to churn the garbage and at least 5 to 10 truckloads of mud to cover the garbage,” said Agarwal. “I have requested the chairperson of Margao Municipal Council, who is in the real estate business, to dispatch five truckloads of mud to Headland Sada,” he added.
Chief Officer Deepali Naik, who is holding additional charge of MMC, said they will work on a war-footing to extinguish the fire.
