Tangerang Regency Government deploys medical personnel to Jatiwaringin landfill fire site
The Tangerang Regency Government in Banten Province has deployed 50 medical personnel to serve residents affected by smoke exposure from the fire at the Jatiwaringin Final Disposal Site in Mauk District, which has been burning since Tuesday (30/6).
“Initially we only had a dozen or so personnel, now we have increased it to 50, with reinforcements from nearby community health centres in the disaster area,” said Hendra Tarmizi, Head of the Tangerang District Health Office, in Tangerang on Friday.
He stated that the deployment of dozens of medical teams was necessary given that smoke from the waste material has begun to impact the health of residents in surrounding settlements.
Based on Health Office data, the total number of residents seeking treatment at the emergency post has now reached nearly 200 people, with the majority complaining of acute respiratory infections.
From that data, the majority of those seeking examinations with respiratory complaints are pregnant women, children, and adults.
Nevertheless, the medical team from the Tangerang Regency Government has provided maximum and ongoing treatment to these patients.
Additionally, the authorities are currently distributing N95 masks and oxygen for the needs of the firefighting teams directly deployed at the Jatiwaringin landfill fire site.
Meanwhile, regarding the condition of teams on site, it has been reported that no firefighters or medical personnel have experienced critical conditions requiring hospital referral.
“The general public is being given standard masks, while high-specification N95 masks are distributed specifically to the front-line fire suppression personnel,” he said.
The National Disaster Management Agency reported that approximately 30 per cent of the fire area at the Jatiwaringin Final Disposal Site in Mauk, Tangerang Regency, Banten, has begun to be extinguished and is under control as of Friday (3/7).
Brigadier General TNI Djohan Darmawan, Director of Emergency Operations Control Coordination at BNPB, said in Tangerang that entering the fourth day of emergency control operations at the Jatiwaringin landfill, the optimisation of two water-bombing helicopter fleets is still being carried out to accelerate extinguishing efforts.
“For now we can see that in the morning the wind is not too strong. Our personnel are also working maximally from morning, afternoon, until night,” he explained.
He stated that to maximise fire control, his team has also deployed 18 fire engine units to sweep fire spots that have not yet been reached by the water-bombing helicopter units.
“So on the fourth day, we brought in two water-bombing helicopter units, including also deploying 18 fire engines,” he said.