Manggala Agni and Joint Task Force Extinguish Fire at Jatiwaringin Landfill
The Manggala Agni team of the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) and a joint task force have completed extinguishing the fire at the Jatiwaringin Final Processing Site (TPA) in Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Friday (10/7) following a week of intensive firefighting operations.
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, expressed appreciation to all personnel and elements involved for their dedication and synergy in handling the Jatiwaringin landfill fire.
“The successful extinguishing of the fire at the Jatiwaringin landfill is the result of the hard work, dedication and collaboration of all parties involved. Manggala Agni personnel together with the joint team worked intensively on a combined ground operation supported by aerial operations until the entire affected area was successfully extinguished,” said Dwi Januanto on Friday (10/7).
Dwi affirmed that Manggala Agni, as the forest fire control brigade, was deployed in this operation because it was deemed to have the competence and experience to support the handling of a landfill fire previously in 2023. This reflects government collaboration in disaster response for public safety and environmental protection.
“The success of this operation was supported by the synergy of various parties, namely Kemenhut, BNPB, the TNI, the National Police, the Ministry of Environment, the fire departments of Tangerang Regency and City, BPBD and other regional government elements, as well as volunteers. This collaboration was a key factor in ensuring the extinguishing operation ran safely, effectively and thoroughly,” Dwi stressed.
Director of Forest Fire Control, Thomas Nifinluri, explained that handling landfill fires has characteristics far more complex than forest and land fires (karhutla) because of the nature of the burning material.
“In the field, personnel applied a scraping strategy, namely excavating the surface of the waste piles using heavy equipment simultaneously with water spraying at fire points to expose layers still holding embers, so the cooling process could proceed more effectively,” Thomas explained.
Thomas said that during the seven-day operation, Manggala Agni personnel carried out extinguishing work in day and night shifts to maintain endurance and operational effectiveness. In this operation, Manggala Agni applied the 5M handling strategy: Smoke Management, Water Management, Human Resource Management, Facilities and Infrastructure Management, and Logistics Management. With this strategy, the entire 15-hectare burnt area was successfully extinguished.
“Following the extinguishing, the team is still carrying out checks and wetting across the entire previously burnt area to ensure there are no remaining embers or hotspots that could potentially trigger another fire,” he concluded.