Cobar Shire Council staff along with staff from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire & Rescue NSW were quick to act to control a fire at council’s waste depot last Wednesday morning.
Stephen Poulter from council’s planning and environmental services department said council was notified of the fire at around 12.30am on Wednesday by a passing truck driver.
“Our initial process was to control the fire and avoid spread to other parts of the site.
“This included Council’s ranger isolating the area from other waste areas with suppression assistance from the Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire & Rescue,” Mr Poulter said.
“We then commenced dumping capping soil over the burning area to extinguish the fire and stop smouldering.
“The fire affected area was eventually extinguished and capped around 5.30pm,” he said.
Mr Poulter said council was unsure of the cause of the fire.
“The facility was locked at the probable time of ignition and the location of the fire was in an area of the site that public access is prohibited,” he said.
Mr Poulter said a mandatory notification to NSW EPA was made last Wednesday morning with subsequent updates throughout the day.
“An incident report is being prepared for EPA providing details of the incident,” he said.
RFS Far West Team Manager Chris Favelle praised the quick response of the council staff and their management of the fire saying that as it involved tyres and mine waste, it had the potential to burn for a considerable time.
