TIRUCHY: Suspected burning of waste near the corporation dump yard at Ariyamangalam led to uncleared garbage at the 48-acre site catching fire on Tuesday afternoon. Amid complaints that fire and rescue services personnel delayed their arrival to the site by over an hour, a nearly 30-member team from various fire stations continued their attempts well into the evening to contain the fire at the dump yard.
According to a fire official, the flames from the waste that a local residing nearby set afire spread to the garbage at the corporation dump yard where bio-mining is underway. While locals, noticing the fire growing in intensity, informed the fire and rescues services department, they alleged that personnel did not turn up for over an hour.
By then, the fire had covered much of the dump yard and also engulfed the entire neighbourhood in smoke. "The dump yard shares boundaries with houses, rice mills, printing press and commercial establishments yet the fire personnel delayed in arrival," a resident said.
Nearby areas like Ambikapuram, MGR Nagar, Kamaraj Nagar and Malaiyappa Nagar were engulfed in smoke. With firefighters allegedly delayed in arrival, a corporation water tanker was pressed into service to douse the flames, but in vain. Fire vehicles from the city, Pullambadi and Navalpattu subsequently arrived at the spot and a team of around 30 personnel engaged in containing the fire.