KOTA KINABALU: Firefighters have begun to use a fire-retardant foam system to fight the raging flames at the Kayu Madang landfill here.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department operations centre assistant chief Riki Mohan Singh Ramday said they were forced to use the foam, together with water, to flood the affected area.
“We resorted to the system due to the large scale and extensive location of the fire, and this method will be able to extinguish the fire in a short time,” he said.
A total of 59 firemen from Tuaran, Lintas, Penampang and here were involved in the operation, which entered its fourth day on Wednesday (March 27).
The fire started at around noon on Sunday (March 24) at a nearby secondary forest before spreading to the landfill, which mainly holds used tyres, about three hours later.
Firemen were called in at 4.55pm and have since been fighting the blaze covering an area of about 47,500sq m.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 25,000sq m of the landfill are still on fire.
Mohan said the operation also saw assistance from the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and Rela.
