Smoke billows across New Providence on Sunday afternoon after fire broke out at the city dump
By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie said that the fire at the New Providence Landfill is “very close“ to being extinguished, and that consultants flown in from the United States by the government are now at the site.
He stressed that the full management of the site by a Bahamian group will also require the coming on board of a US operator to help manage the city dump.
“As of this morning (Thursday), I am told that they are very close to putting the fire out, and there has been a significant improvement in terms of the smoke,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Grand Bahama Business Outlook yesterday in Freeport.
“We have also flown in consultants from the US who are (at) the site with us.”
Mr Christie said the priority now is to move rapidly to bring normalcy to the site and to move quickly with respect to determining which of the groups who have applied to manage the site will, in fact, be selected.
Residents of Jubilee Gardens were forced to evacuate their homes on Sunday when hazardous smoke from the landfill blanketed the community.
Mr Christie stated that proper future management of the landfill site is of utmost importance to the government.
He stressed that the government wants an operator who has an enormous capacity to manage such a site.
“For me, right now I want to in the shortest possible time to have a full management team on the condition that the management team may be made up of Bahamians, but they have in their mix someone who operates those industrial sites now in the USA,” he said.
“Happily, for us the fire was not started on the site itself, it came from some bush fire that ignited and we had a huge amount of waste stored there from the hurricane. We had a compactor there (for the debris),” said Mr Christie.
The nation’s leader assured Bahamians that the government will assist residents in restoring their homes.
“If, for example, they had smoke damage we are going to restore that. If their walls are dirty because of smoke, we will fix that. In other words, we will go into the community with a view to determining how they were impacted and how best we can put them back in the position they were in, or even a little better than they were in,” he said.
Mr Christie said that the fire did not destroy any homes.
“We will be painting, fumigating, and industrial cleaning because no houses were destroyed by the fire,” he added.
Comments
jackbnimble 7 years, 1 month ago
Typical. Let's now bring in the foreigners to solve the problem. We gat an election to win so let's be reactionary instead of dealing with the problem 10 fires ago! After all, the Stem Cell Bill and getting the numbers boys straight was our priority when assuming office instead of dealing with the problems of the voters who put our as**s in office!
C2B 7 years, 1 month ago
I suppose you think we should pull from that massive, top notch, omnipotent talent pool we have here, with our 350,000 residents. The assumption that there is a Bahamian that can do every job on earth is one of the great myths of this Nation. I just want the best person for the job so it gets done right.
Millennial242 7 years, 1 month ago
Precisely! Until we have the right level of local talent, we will have to bring in external resources...otherwise we perish. Wake up. We're still a third world country.
sp1nks 7 years, 1 month ago
I mostly agree, C2B. The problem I have is the belief that experts and consultants must always from the U.S.
Sickened 7 years, 1 month ago
Next week the priority will go back to skimming more money out of the Carnival party. I wonder if Brave will be brining in another +50 generators duty free?
John 7 years, 1 month ago
Do we need another BPL in our lives? Seriously? Now there's talks that BPL is giving different... never mind.
Honestman 7 years, 1 month ago
Yep, it's a dump and it's on fire. That'll be $500,000 thank you!
banker 7 years, 1 month ago
Add $50,000 for saying that the smoke een good.
C2B 7 years, 1 month ago
Make it an even Million, and hire my cousin $450k
Reality_Check 7 years, 1 month ago
Re-post: I must applaud Dr. Arlington Lightbourne for speaking out on the very real health risks associated with prolonged exposure to the toxic smoke from the dump fires. It is frankly very disappointing that many more of our country's physicians have not done likewise. Perry Christie, his cabinet ministers, his puppet AG and Leslie Miller are all literally responsible for the illnesses, serious ailments and pre-mature deaths (both past and future deaths) of thousands and thousands of Bahamians who have been repeatedly exposed over many years to highly toxic fumes from frequent dump fires. It is Christie's puppet AG - Allyson Maynard-Gibson - who is instrumental in preventing those individuals whose lives have been destroyed by these dump fires from seeking and obtaining legal redress in our courts. Some health and life insurers are already taking the position they should not be held liable for claims made as a result of sickness or death that may be attributed to repeated instances of the insured being exposed to such highly toxic fumes. Insurers aggressively avoid paying out claims and death benefits if they can find (in the fine print of the policies they issue) a convenient reason for not having to do so. Therefore, for those who have lived for many years in any of the communities affected most by the dump fires, chances are their life and/or health insurance policies may no longer be worth the paper they are written on.
Naughtydread 7 years, 1 month ago
by Naughtydread
C2B 7 years, 1 month ago
Creative! Dark and disturbing; but creative.
TalRussell 7 years, 1 month ago
Comrades! What happens to the bodies thousands dogs, cats and other dead animals that must be disposed of every year in Nassau Town?
This is an important question for your health and the well-being of everyone else. Any there any health laws to be followed?
Socrates 7 years, 1 month ago
remember they r only consultants.. give advise, then we throw the report in the bottom drawer of some desk on Cable Beach, and life goes on. 30 years not fixed, i wouldn't hold my breath, no pun intended, hoping for a fix now...
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