KOCHI: The report filed by Kochi City Police Commissioner K Sethu Raman to Kerala Chief Secretary on the Brahmapuram incident hints at the sub-surface fire as the likely reason for the rapid spread of fire at the waste treatment plant on March 2, which took over ten days to douse.
The report also blamed the dumping of solid waste in the yard for the frequent fires at the plant. The report elaborates on two kinds of fire —— surface fire and sub-surface fire. Surface fire, as the name suggests, occurs mostly on the landfill’s top surface and occurs during refuse burning at a low temperature, emitting dense white smoke and products of partial burning.
Sub-surface fires, on the other hand, are complex and occur below the surface, producing carbon monoxide and products of incomplete combustion, such as dioxins and furans. According to the report, the fire that occurred on March 2 has the characteristics of a sub-surface fire.“The fire started from sector 2 of legacy waste that is more than 10-13 years old.
The CCTV visuals obtained from the land reveal that the spread of the fire was extremely rapid. It began by 3.58 pm, and by 4.03 pm, it engulfed the whole area. Within five minutes, it spread like a big fire, with black smoke billowing out from it. Given the age of the waste and the gases emitted after the fire, it is likely that sub-surface fire and hotspots and prevalent throughout the dump yard,” the report read.
Probe to discern cause of fire continues
As part of the probe to discern the exact cause of the fire, Kochi police interviewed 50 persons, including 48 who were present at the plant on March 2, the day the fire started. Call data records of 25 persons were collected, and the mobile phones of 20 were seized for analysis. The report claims that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“So far, no conclusive evidence is available regarding the cause of the fire. CCTV visuals of six cameras could not indicate any evidence of arson or sabotage. Several persons have disclosed that they have seen random fires at the plant, which are normally put down by them. Only major fire incidents are reported to Fire and Rescue Services,” the report read.
Natural causes of fire not ruled out
The report also elaborates on the possible natural causes of the fire. A ten-member team of experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory collected evidence from the plant, and results are awaiting. The surface temperature was measured by Enviro Design Eco Lab, Palarivattom, on March 23. When the atmospheric temperature was 36 degrees Celsius, the surface temperature at a depth of 60cm of the legacy waste was 48 degrees Celsius.
“The waste is dumped up to the height of 10m, and the temperature at the level of five meters and below is likely to be extremely high. The waste dumping yard contains un-segregated legacy waste with highly inflammable items such as batteries, perfume bottles, medicine cans, beverage papers, wood and several inflammable materials. The legacy waste is completely covered by long dry grass peculiar to the area, and likely that friction of long dry grasses may cause a fire. Methane and other gases emanating from the yard and the depth of legacy waste are also likely to stroke fire,” the report read.
The report also referred to fire occurrences frequent at waste management facilities across the globe.