Cikundul Sukabumi TPA Fire Successfully Extinguished

Efforts to extinguish the Cikundul TPA fire in Sukabumi City, West Java Province, Sunday (22/10/2023). (ANTARA/HO-BNPB)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported that the waste fire at the Cikundul Final Disposal Site (TPA), Sukabumi City, West Java was successfully extinguished.

Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center Abdul Muhari said from a report from the Sukabumi City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the fire began to flare up in piles of garbage on Sunday (22/10), at 13.00 local time.

"The fire was successfully extinguished by joint officers on Monday morning (23/10), at 01.00 WIB. The joint officers immediately moved to the location after receiving reports of a fire at the Cikundul TPA," Abdul said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, October 23.

Abdul reported that the blackout was supported by four units of the Sukabumi City Fire Department (Damkar), two units of the Sukabumi Regency Fire Department, and one fleet of the Indonesian Environment and Red Cross Service, respectively. Meanwhile, the Sukabumi City BPBD deployed one unit of lighting.

"The Sukabumi City BPBD reports that fires can be exacerbated by conditions in the field, such as dry plastic waste, hot weather, and the presence of flammable media. In addition, the extinguishing process is also constrained by the distance of water sources and there are no standard fire equipment facilities at the Cikundul TPA, such as hydrants," said Abdul.

Recommendations from the Sukabumi City BPBD, after this fire, he said, need cooling at the location. This needs to be done if the weather is hot enough. Meanwhile, the potential danger that needs to be anticipated is ahead of the rainy season.

Abdul said that conditions at the TPA location were feared that there would be small landslides. This can be seen from the contours of piles of garbage that are rising and mounting.

This Cikundul TPA is located on Jalan Rusunawa, Situ Mekar Village, Lembar Situ District. This facility in Sukabumi City has been operating since 2021.

"With the fire incident at the TPA, it is necessary to put it in the planning of the construction of a fire fighting facility TPA, such as hydrants or accessibility when handling at the location," he said.