Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) prepared a helicopter to conduct waterbombing to speed up the process of extinguishing fires in the Rawa Kucing Landfill in Neglasari, Tangerang City, Banten.Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari noted in a statement received here on Saturday that the helicopter flew from Jambi. ccording to Muhari, at least 10 hectares of the landfill are estimated to be burning, and as of Saturday morning, the fire was still burning at the site. It was predicted that the fire started on Friday (October 20) at 2 p.m. local time, referring to the BNPB Operation Control Center report issued on Saturday at 6 a.m. local time. Meanwhile, Muhari said his side was still investigating the cause of the fire, but the extreme weather and scorching heat could be the factors. “The cause of the fire is still being traced, but the extreme weather and heat could make piles of plastic waste highly flammable,” he stated. The Banten and Tangerang City Regional Disaster Mitigation Agencies (BPBD) formed a joint team to extinguish the fire. s many as 36 firefighting personnel and 450 people were involved in the extinguishing process. Head of Tangerang City BPBD Maryono Hasan remarked that the fire first occurred in the gate one area of the landfill, and the strong wind extended the fire to the gate two and three areas. Meanwhile, the Tangerang City Health Office has provided mini ICUs and oxygen cylinders to help officers and residents involved in extinguishing fires. Moreover, the Tangerang city government has evacuated dozens of residents to the Neglasari Sub-district office to prevent the surrounding communities from being exposed to respiratory diseases due to inhaling toxic fire smoke from the burning landfill.

Source: Antara News Agency