Perungudi Dump yard Fire

The fire in Perungudi dump yard was put out after four days of firefighting with assistance from the personnel of Fire and Rescue Services. The fire started around 12.30 pm on Wednesday (27.04.2022), spreading rapidly across portions of the 225-acre landfill. By Friday evening (29.04.2022), the flames had been contained to about a kilometre. The fire is largely under control as of Saturday morning (30.04.2022).

Honourable Chief Minister praised the services of Firemen and officers in Social media in dousing the Perungudi landfill fire.

Firefighters battled to completely douse the flames. Plumes of smoke, which continued to billow from tall mounds of rubbish, remained visible from over a kilometre away. The plastic waste buried at least 20 feet deep under these mounds was proving to be the main hurdle. The flames burn downwards, but the plastic forms a barrier, stopping water from seeping as deep as it needs to. 

Thirteen Fire Tenders, two aerial ladder platform vehicles and over 120 firemen worked round the clock for days and nights to put out the fire. “This is a large dumping yard and fire has spread till the core. Even if fire is controlled, smoke comes up,” The Director of Tamilnadu Fire and Rescue Services, DGP Shri. Braj Kishore Ravi IPS, said. The summer heat, strong winds and methane pockets across the landfill had all played a role in the spreading of the fire.

Even after the fire was put out in the afternoon on Saturday (30.04.2022), four fire tenders were kept on standby.