Giovanny Otamendi, director of Civil Protection of the Libertador municipality of the state of Aragua, reported that after the alert call of the residents who reside in the town of Palo Negro, officials from the mayor’s office and Civil Protection managed to control a solid waste fire that included about two acres from the Las Vegas landfill.
The official explained that, after the emergency, Mayor Gonzalo Díaz Plaza activated all the security agencies of the municipality to attend to the situation, for which the use of heavy machinery was necessary.
“Thanks to the work of at least 20 officials between the mayor’s office and the disaster and emergency agency, with the use of heavy machinery we were able to put out the flames that, until late at night on Tuesday, maintained a strong smoke screen that could be spread.” can be seen from the sectors adjacent to the landfill”, explained Otamendi.
He added that these fires usually occur during the months of December, January and February, motivated by the burning of sugar cane, for which he urged the community to remain calm, ensuring that they will remain deployed in the area to attend to any emergency situation. that can be presented
Likewise, he urged the population to avoid the use of fireworks to prevent fires during the December season: “We call on parents, we must avoid using fireworks near the landfill, we must take into account that there are lots of dry vegetation, bottles, glass and flammable objects. The invitation is for us to spend a calm and peaceful Christmas ”, he emphasized.
He added that they will remain active 24 hours a day, giving a timely response to the population that requires it, to guarantee the safety and protection of the population during the holidays.
Final solution
For their part, families from sectors such as Los Hornos, La Pica, Las Vegas and Palo Negro Residences, clamor for a definitive solution that allows carrying out a process of adaptation and sanitation of the area, and thus be able to move towards its definitive closure, as It is established in an administrative procedure opened by the Ministry of the Environment in 2009.
They assure that the situation of the landfill has become a public health problem, and denounce that there are numerous cases of diarrhoea, asthma and scabies that occur in the community, due to the contamination prevailing on the site.
