Jatiwaringin Landfill Fire Grows Larger, Still Uncontained by Wednesday Night

The fire that struck the Jatiwaringin Final Processing Site (TPA) in Mauk District, Tangerang Regency, Banten, had not been successfully extinguished as of Wednesday (1/7) evening. Strong gusts of wind caused the flames to continue growing and spread to other areas of the waste pile.

CNN Indonesia’s observation at the scene indicated that the fire was still burning the mountain of rubbish until 10 o’clock at night. Thick smoke continued to billow, while joint officers from Tangerang Regency, Tangerang City, South Tangerang City, and Banten Province were still attempting to tame the flames.

Conditions at the site increasingly hampered the extinguishing process as the strong winds caused the fire to keep expanding. Officers had to work extra hard to prevent the flames from spreading to other areas, including residential neighbourhoods around the landfill.

The thick smoke from the fire also affected journalists who had been covering the event since Wednesday morning. One reporter in Tangerang Regency, Zepri Junaedi, admitted to experiencing shortness of breath, rapid fatigue, and dizziness due to smoke exposure and the lack of oxygen at the location.

‘It causes rapid fatigue and makes the head dizzy because of the smoke produced by the fire that has not been extinguished at several points,’ he said.

Additionally, a number of residents were forced to leave their homes and evacuate because the smoke was besieging the residential area. One affected resident, Siti Hayati, admitted to experiencing dizziness, shortness of breath, and a sore throat since the fire smoke blanketed her neighbourhood.

‘I feel dizzy, my chest is tight, my throat is phlegmy, and it’s difficult to sleep because of the tightness. When the smoke comes here, it feels even heavier,’ she said.

Based on data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the area of the Jatiwaringin landfill that has burned has reached approximately 15 hectares.

To accelerate the handling, the BNPB has deployed one water-bombing helicopter unit to assist with aerial firefighting and prevent the flames from spreading to residential areas.

The BNPB also plans to conduct weather modification operations in coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to speed up the extinguishing process. In addition, two water-bombing helicopter units are scheduled to be deployed on Thursday (2/7) morning to reinforce the firefighting efforts at the Jatiwaringin landfill.