By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

OVER 27 Jubilee Gardens residents were treated at the Flamingo Gardens clinic on March 5 for issues stemming from the most recent fire at the New Providence Landfill, with four of those persons needing to be admitted for emergency care at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Most of the symptoms residents in that community complained of were headaches, dizziness, and coughing, while others complained of having chest pains, according to Judith Scavella, senior nursing officer at the Department of Public Health (DPH).

Meanwhile, Lillian Quant-Forbes, assistant director of the Department of Social Services (DSS), said that 290 heads of households applied for assistance at the department’s command centre at the Kendal G L Isaacs Gymnasium, out of the estimated 600 homes located in Jubilee Gardens.

Of the 290 heads of households, Mrs Quant-Forbes said the department at “various establishments” throughout New Providence accommodated 41 families consisting of 162 persons.

She said the department utilised hotels and motels, as well as a facility owned by the Church of God of Prophecy for their efforts.

The comments by both women came following an assessment of the Jubilee Gardens community by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Department of Environmental Health (DEH) and DSS on Saturday morning, almost one week after last Sunday’s massive fire.

Officials from the Ministry of Works and Urban Development, as well as the Department of Housing (DOH) were also present for the assessment exercise.

Anthony Ryan, public analyst at the DEH, said based on initial assessments, there was an “absence” of “soot material,” which he said gives smoke its blackish hue.

The absence of soot material, he said, was either because “folks have cleaned up a lot” or that “a lot of soot material was not carried in the smoke,” which he said is “a very good sign.”

“The soot will tell us exactly what was in the smoke,” he explained. “When you see smoke and it’s very black, that’s the soot material right there. That deposits in various areas. That’s what we’re hoping to collect some of and send to a certified laboratory in the United States for analysis.

“Once we would have gotten that information it will help to guide us in the proper cleanup methodologies.”

Mr Ryan went said that the DEH, as part of phase two of its assessments, will seek to analyse the air quality inside of homes in Jubilee Gardens, and will also begin looking for “volatile organic compounds and other possible contaminants that may impact residents.”

He also said there is a proposal at the DEH for the acquisition of ambient air monitoring equipment, which will be placed around the dump site to give accurate readings on the kinds of contaminants that would be emanating from the dump site in the event another fire breaks out.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Works Buildings Control Officer Craig Delancy said based on his initial assessment, there was no major structural damage on any of the houses in that community.

Jerry Moxey, acting chief housing officer at the DOH, echoed Mr Delancy’s sentiments.

However, Mr Moxey said he and other DOH officials will need to return to the subdivision to perform further analyses on the roofs of homes in the area, particularly those situated to the far east of the community.

“In a nutshell from what we have seen, mostly smoke, ash is in the houses, smoke damage; you walk on the floor in white socks and you can actually pick up all of that smoke residue,” Mr Moxey said. “But this is good news in that the homes were not damaged by the fire.

“…We just have damage that may have been cost to the exterior where some of the homes may have some paint flaking.”

The inspection took place as smoke hung over much of New Providence on a hot and windless morning. Residents in many communities awoke to smell smoke and in some parts reduced visibility before a breeze sprung up to disperse it.

On March 5, a massive blaze broke out at the Harold Road landfill site, blanketing nearby communities, and in particular Jubilee Gardens, in thick, black hazardous smoke and forcing residents in that community to evacuate their homes.

On Wednesday, Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett said there is no definite date set for when Jubilee Gardens residents will be able to return to their homes. Initially, officials said residents would have to wait five to seven days.

When questioned on Saturday morning on when the “all clear” might be given, NEMA Director Captain Stephen Russell said: “We’re probably hoping that between now and midday I’ll make contact with (a senior official) from fire services and his superior from the (DEH), again in terms of the air quality in the area and the status of the dump site whether we can expect something to reignite or whether it’s clear to say that the fire has died down and we have no further concerns with any major smoke billowing in the area during the course of this weekend.”