Sir John: Dump fiasco could have been avoided
“Central Pembroke was not meant for that purpose,” he stated. “It was not meant to be a dumping ground for people, for waste, for things we want to turn our backs on.
“I just feel so sorry for all the people living in that neighbourhood. It’s unfair that they should even have to live with everybody’s waste around. Quite frankly, I’m damn angry.”Fire erupted at the Marsh Folly Dump shortly after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, forcing Government to initiate a partial evacuation of the neighbourhood — seniors at the Pembroke Rest Home were shifted to St. George’s, while elderly residents and those with infants or respiratory problems were encouraged to move elsewhere.
According to Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister, the mound at the dump was piled higher than usual because the machines which would usually break the waste down, were in need of repair.
The inattention was determined to be a contributing factor to the blaze by Fire Chief Vincent Hollinsid. He declared the most likely scenario was that the heat of the pile combined with heavy rains in recent weeks, sped up the decomposing process.
“All that created a spontaneous combustion as the heat built up and reacted with the methane gas,” he told The Royal Gazette.
The Pembroke Dump was used as a landfill for household waste until it was replaced by the Tynes Bay incinerator in the mid-1990s. Last year Sir John urged the Government to live up to the promise made by his own administration more than a decade ago, to build the Dr. E.F. Memorial Park.
A Harvard University study commissioned by the United Bermuda Party was used as a blueprint for the plan to build a 23-acre park including jogging and horse-riding trails, woodlands and a playground.
In 1994, it was estimated it would take between eight and ten years for the park to become a reality. Members of the PLP expressed their discontent with the time-frame.
“It’s definitely too long and beyond the time span of the five-year phasing programme the Harvard group recommended,” said Nelson Bascome at the time. “I expected at the maximum, three to four years.”
In 2004 Sir John wrote to former Premier Alex Scott, again urging the Government to move forward with the plans.
Despite the ash, which continued to rain down over most of Hamilton last night, businesses along North and Court Streets remained open, including the House of India.
However, chairman of the Uptown Market Association Elmore Warren said many businesses had their hands full yesterday cleaning as much of the mess off their properties as they could.
One business that spent the morning sweeping, scrubbing and cleaning was Spinning Wheel on Court Street. A spokesman said the swimming pool proved the greatest challenge.
Meanwhile residents at the Salvation Army’s Emergency Housing Complex — literally a stone’s throw from the burning mass — were spared the choking smoke and ash on Wednesday night, allowing residents to spend the evening in their own beds.
However, Ivan Minors said a few of the residents who suffer from asthma spent the night with family and friends elsewhere on the island.
He was also not too concerned about the ash, which resembled a few inches of snow on the roof of the complex this morning. Staff were, however, sweeping and cleaning as much of it from surfaces as possible, while windows and doors remained tightly closed.
“We don’t drink the water from the tank, so we’re not too worried,” he added.
Said Sir John: “I feel sorry for the people who live around there. It’s like déj|0xe0| vu — we stop the fires, we put them out, and they come back again. It was intended to be made a park and part of the reason for the park was to make sure we didn’t overload it because below it sits one of the largest freshwater tables in Bermuda.
“Years ago I expressed my concern of continued dumping. I spoke because of the threat the horticultural waste there presents to the freshwater table but there’s also the risk of fire.
“The horticultural waste becomes a kindling with the build up of methane gas and here we are now, experiencing it. I feel sorry for all the people in the neighbourhood.
“It’s going all in people’s tanks, in people’s lungs and it was avoidable. It’s been 20 years since the Harvard Study — ten years too long.”
Sir John reiterated his belief that the waste could be trucked to alternative locations and used as landfill.
“I went by a couple of days before the fire and I was stunned by the level (of waste),” he said. “I was shocked. The Department of Works & Engineering know we depend on that water and that it will affect other parts of the island.
“Nobody is listening or doing something about it. There are areas along the railway trail which could have been converted to small parks with waste fill. It’s not something we could not do something about. It just needs the will to do it. I hope the fire is a genesis for change.”
