Bukit Udal tire landfill fire

Bukit Udal tires landfill in the Tutong District turned into a “battlefield” as a major fire occurred since 10:05pm last Sunday night (3 February 2013, Sunday). The fire damaged millions of used and damaged tires dumped at the landfill. However due to the night time the Tutong firefighters which responded to the fire had to limit their operation on ensuring the landfill workers safety as well as minimizing the fire through defensive firefighting.

Today (4 February 2013, Monday) the firefighting operation continued with the joint operation of government agencies as well as individuals. Among the agencies involved are Ministry of Development, Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), Brunei Fire and Rescue Department (BFRD), Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRE), Public Works Department (PWD) and the landfill contractors.

Due to the thick smoke and severe heat from the fire the firefighters had to used ground monitors to fight the fire. Although the fire hydrants pressure are strong the operation was hampered as the tires are spreading fast with the aid of strong wind and hot weather. Concern on the impact of the fire BFRD deployed reinforcement of water tankers and foam tenders as far as from Jerudong, SPARK Sungai Liang, Sungai Liang and Seria Fire Stations. The deployment saw the involvement of 7 fire engines and support vehicle at the scene. The former operator of the landfill also aiding the firefighters by covering the fire with the sands in order to control the blaze. Fire breakers are also created with the usage of heavy machinery to prevent the burning of remaining tires as well as for the firefighter access throughout the operation.

The operation was led by Senior Superintendent of Fire Rescue (SSFR) Awang Tahir bin Hj Muktal, Commanding officer of the Tutong Operation E command and supervised by the Deputy Director of BFRD Lim Hock Guan

Present at the scene to view the whole operation was Hj.Muhammad Lutfi bin Abdullah, Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance) Ministry of Development as well as officers and staffs from the agencies involved in the operation.

The fire also a big topic of the day as road users and commuters at the nearby Muara-Tutong Highway tend to stop and took pictures of the thick smoke and posting them to social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. This forced the RBPF officers standing by at the scene to disperse the vehicles parked at the roadside to ensure smooth traffic. While for those who watch from distance think that there are major building or house fire somewhere at Tutong Town. 

Meanwhile the thick smoke also caused several section of the nearby Muara- Tutong Highway covered by smoke and the smoke can be seen as far as at the rural Tutong Mukims at Kiudang and Lamunin. While at Belait District only slightly black clouds can be seen due to the fire.

The Deputy Director of BFRD Lim Hock Guan when interviewed said “Nearly 30 personnel and fire engines from Tutong, Jerudong, Seria, Sungai Liang and SPARK Sungai Liang are deployed to the scene to fight the fire and assist their Tutong colleague. To ensure complete extinguishing we had to use foam solution to fight the fire. This is the second time and the most severed fire at the same landfill after similar incident also occurred last month but it is quickly extinguished by our Tutong personnel”.