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Firefighters from multiple departments work together with private contractors to extinguish a fire at the landfill.
Williston Fire Chief John Melton (left), the incident commander for the landfill fire, talks with other responders.
Firefighters douse the fire with water on Sunday, Sept. 24.
Private contractors assisted in fire efforts by moving dirt.
A fire at the Barnwell County Landfill kept firefighters busy for three days.
Firefighters from multiple departments started battling the blaze Sunday afternoon, Sept. 24 after a sheriff’s deputy noticed smoke while passing by the landfill around 3:30 p.m. The deputy located the fire in the construction and demolition area. Fire departments were sent to respond along with county employees and private contractors.
“It was an honor and a privilege watching dedicated firefighters, heavy-equipment operators, and county staff join together to ensure this landfill fire didn’t end up as serious as the one we had about 18 months ago,” said Barnwell County Administrator Tim Bennett.
County Fire Coordinator Wesley Gatlin was first on scene Sunday afternoon and began organizing the response to the fire. He turned the on-scene command responsibilities over to Williston Fire Chief John Melton, who with Gatlin as his Operations chief, organized seven volunteer fire departments and numerous other assets in applying water and dirt to smother the fire.
Over the course of the next three days, firefighters and the others who responded continued to monitor the fire, which reignited or flared up several times. Emergency Management Director Roger Riley flew the county’s infrared-capable drone over the site mid-afternoon on Sept. 25 and found no hot spots.
“Tomorrow’s task is to finish applying dirt to cover the portions of the landfill at risk of reigniting,” said Bennett on Sept. 25.
The county anticipated ceasing operations on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Though the exact cause of the fire is unknown, “debris goes through a composting stage as it deteriorates, causing heat that can ignite if it gets enough air. That’s possibly what happened here,” said Curtis Hogg, the county’s public works director who assisted in the response along with solid waste/landfill director Frank Williams.
Firefighting units included those from Williston, Blackville, Long Branch, Barnwell Rural, Elko, Windsor, Forestry, Aiken County, plus county Emergency Management and Fire Coordinator personnel, Public Works / Landfill personnel, and EMS units from Thorne Ambulance Service.
Commercial haulers and individual haulers are able to dispose of construction and demolition debris at the landfill in an area unaffected by the fire.
