Veles landfill fire extinguished after three hours; heavy smoke hit old town

A fire that burned at an informal landfill above Derven Creek in Veles was extinguished late last night after firefighters fought flames and heavy black smoke for about three hours, authorities said.

Fire fought for three hours; smoke hit the old town

"The report of the fire was received at 17:50. The Veles Territorial Fire Unit went to the scene with one firefighting vehicle and three firefighter-rescuers. Upon arrival, due to the seriousness of the fire, which was found in a developed phase, additional assistance of another vehicle was requested. After a three-hour fight with the tongues of flame, the fire was extinguished and its spread was not allowed," the Veles Fire Department said.

The dense black smoke spread over the older part of the city and created immediate living problems for residents there.

"You couldn't breathe because of the smoke. Someone set a wild dump on fire, plastic was burning. Did they burn cables to extract copper and resell it, cables stolen from public installations, but this was bad for health," Veles residents said.

Although the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning's monitoring station in Veles is located in the newer district Tunel, pollution reached that area as well: at 21:00 the station recorded 77 mg/m³ PM10 particles in the air, and at 06:00 the hourly value rose to 160 mg/m³.

Burning plastic releases hazardous pollutants — including carbon monoxide, dioxins, furans and persistent organic particles — that are harmful to health and can travel on the wind over large distances, irritating eyes, throats and lungs.

Residents and environmentalists note that about twenty years ago there was an air-quality station near the Employment Bureau that covered the old town, but it was closed by the Ministry. Local authorities say they requested placement of monitoring instruments in the old part of Veles, but the Ministry declined.

Photo: СДК.МК)