Police drone footage of fire at original landfill dump site; residents urged to close all door and windows and avoid inhalation of the toxic smoke

POND ISLAND — Once again, the original dump site at the landfill on Pond Island is on fire. The Fire Department is hard at work on containing the fire at the dump on Pond Island which erupted during the late evening hours of Tuesday, August 7th, 2018. The company responsible for the management of the landfill is also working diligently to extinguish the fire, DCOMM reported in a press released issued at 9:15pm.

The Police Department stated on their Facebook page that on Tuesday evening the department received information that the old dumping site on Pond Island had caught fire again. All necessary authorities were notified and the fire department immediately set about doing all possible to contain the fire and avoid spreading.

Police Inspector Ricardo Henson gave a first update with live video drone footage around 9pm. The footage captured with the police drone shows the intensity of the blaze at the dump.

At 10pm Police Inspector Ricardo Henson once again went live with further commentary of the situation of the dump with more live footage from the police drone showing the magnitude of the fire.

Residents living downwind in the Philipsburg area and surrounding neighborhoods from the smoke produced by the fire, should close all windows and doors and avoid inhalation of the toxic smoke.

This advisory is especially for persons who have a respiratory challenge such as asthma or shortness of breath.