PHILIPSBURG – The SXM National Recovery Program Bureau reports via their Facebook page that a Fire suppression expert is currently on St. Maarten assessing the situation at the Dump.
“Through the cooperation with the World Bank, Sint Maarten is benefitting from the knowledge and experience of many international experts. One of those experts is Todd Thalhamer, a seasoned environmental engineer with 25 year’s experience in waste issues and 22 years of fire-fighting experience. Todd has consulted on over 45 waste fire projects around the world and has developed a new firefighting strategy called “environmental fire suppression”, which strives to limit the environmental impact of fire suppression activities.
As a consultant on the Emergency Debris Management Project, specially focused on extinguishing the ongoing landfill fires, Todd was on the island recently to get a first-hand impression of the situation, working closely with the Interim Recovery Committee. As part of the preparation of the World Bank project, Todd met with several stakeholders including the Ministry of VROMI, Ministry of VSA, the Fire Department and the Nature Foundation to discuss possible fire suppression strategies.
“The issues at the landfill are not unique to Sint Maarten alone”, Todd reassured. “Total extinguishment of the fires is attainable. However, it will require careful planning, perseverance and commitment from all parties. Solving the situation at the landfill is not something that can be done without proper preparation”.
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