REDUCING THE RISK OF LANDFILL FIRE

                                                                                     BY
                                    Dr. Tony Sperling, P.Eng.,
                                    President of Sperling Hansen Associates and LandfillFire Control Inc.,
                                    Director and Co-Chair Training Committee SWANA B.C. Pacific Chapter

Introduction

In British Columbia landfill fire awareness was raised following the flare-up of the Delta Shake and Shingle Demolition / Land Clearing / Construction Waste (DLC) fire that ultimately took two months to extinguish at a cost of more than four million dollars.  Although the details of the incident are described in the January 2001 edition of Waste Age, the final chapter is yet to be written as the provincial government attempts to recover the fire fighting expenses in court from the private owners of the company. 

The key lessons learned from the Delta Shake and Shingle fire were:

·  to recognize the signs of fire, including smoke vents and elevated temperatures, and to take those signs seriously (not done at Delta Shake),

·  to respond to a fire quickly, before it becomes a much bigger problem (not done at Delta Shake),

·  to properly compact incoming waste, thereby reducing the potential for oxygen intrusion (not done at Delta Shake), and

·  to use adequate inert soil cover between lifts (not done at Delta Shake) 

  Photo 1.  Active Face at Delta Shake and Shingle before fire.

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