Tak Kunjung Padam, Water Bombing Kebakaran TPA Sarimukti Berlanjut Di Hari Keempat

Sarimukti Final Disposal Site (TPA), West Bandung Regency, West Java (doc BNPB)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) continues its operation to extinguish the Sarimukti Final Disposal Site (TPA), West Bandung Regency, West Java, using water bombing helicopters on the fourth day or today.

Acting Head of BNPB Disaster Data and Communication Center Abdul Muhari said that apart from using helicopters, continuous extinguishing was also carried out by a joint team using water tankers and ground personnel.

"This is done to accelerate the extinguishing of fires that have an impact on public health around the Sarimukti TPST," said Abdul Muhari in his statement, Monday, August 28.

Based on BNPB monitoring at the affected locations, smoke began to decrease and visibility had improved much more than when water bombing operations were first carried out on Friday, August 25.

"Now the hotspots on the surface are around 90 percent that have been successfully extinguished, but the hotspots in the piles of garbage are estimated to be still 40 percent which causes the emergence of smoke to the surface," he said.

On Friday, August 25, efforts to extinguish the Sarimukti TPA were carried out by pouring 120 thousand liters of water into piles of garbage. On Saturday, August 26, the BNPB helicopter was airborne for 9 hours 38 minutes and managed to release 110 times the water bombing which is equivalent to 440,000 liters of water.

Meanwhile, today, Sunday, August 27, 332,000 liters of water were watered from the air to the still burning land. Thus, the total water used to extinguish the fire during the last three days amounted to 892,000 liters of water.

The Bandung City Government will immediately issue unexpected costs (BTT) for handling waste including establishing a Waste Emergency Task Force in response to the fire at the Sarimukti TPA which has been going on for the last few days.

The Daily Executive (Plh) of the Mayor of Bandung, Ema Sumarna, said this was also a response to the West Java Governor's decree which stated that Bandung Raya was in a state of waste emergency since August 24, 2023.

"Therefore, we will issue a Acting Mayor's Decree relating to the use of BTT because it coincides with the use of the budget and so on. In addition, we will design a Waste Emergency Task Force, which God willing, Monday will be finished," Ema said on Sunday, August 27.

Regarding the formation of the Waste Emergency Handling Task Force, Ema explained that the Bandung City Government reflected on the successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, at which time the Task Force was also formed.

"This Waste Management Task Force will later contain ranks from the Bandung City Government and also the Bandung City Forkopimda," he said.