60 Per Cent Of Fire At Recycling Collection Site Extinguished

KOTA BHARU, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- Sixty per cent of the fire at the recycling collection site in Pengkalan Chepa Industrial Area, Padang Tembak, has been extinguished.

Head of Zone 1 of the Kelantan Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Senior Superintendent Khairul Ariffin Che Ramli said firefighting operations at the site have been carried out round the clock since three days ago.

"In addition to spraying water from six tankers provided by Air Kelantan Sendirian Berhad (AKSB), we also use excavators to break up the compressed recycled materials at the site.

"This method can speed up the extinguishing process when flammable materials are broken up," he told reporters here today.

According to him, the fire-fighting operation at the site involves 31 fire-fighters from the  Kota Bharu, Pengkalan Chepa BBP, Pasir Tumboh BBP and Wakaf Bharu BBP who are still on duty at the location of the fire.

He said the burnt materials at the site comprised plastic, cloth, rubber and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which are believed to be processed to produce 'biodiesel' in other factories.

Meanwhile, Kelantan Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director Mohamad Zamzani Ibrahim said as of 1 pm today the reading of the Air Pollution Index (API) in Kota Bharu and Pengkalan Chepa was  40, which is still good.

-- BERNAMA