Fire breaks out at Vellalore dump yard, extinguished

COIMBATORE: A fire that broke out at the Vellalore dump yard here on Friday night was extinguished in the early hours of Saturday, after nearly four hours’ efforts. More than 35 firefighters with four fire tenders were involved in combating the blaze.K S Mohan, secretary of the Kurichi-Vellalore Pollution Prevention Action Committee and a resident near the dump yard, said the fire started around 10.30pm on Friday and was doused by 3.30am on Saturday. Mohan said it was estimated that waste covering at least 40-50 cents of the dump yard was burned. He added, "It was not a massive fire compared to the one that occurred in April 2024, which lasted nearly 12 days." Coimbatore corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran said an investigation had been initiated to determine the cause of the fire.

He said, "The fire ignited in an isolated area that contained minimal legacy waste, along with some fresh waste that was dumped from the material recovery facility a few months ago. A fire in this area is unlikely unless there is some external interference. We are reviewing CCTV footage to identify any suspicious activity.

”“If the fire had occurred in the bio-mining area or within the fresh waste processing facility, the situation could have been much more serious. We have a fire service vehicle stationed at the dump yard, allowing us to respond quickly to emergencies," he added.