DEP to help town put out dump fire

Southern Aroostook Bureau

SMYRNA — A representative from the Department of Environmental Protection will be in Smyrna on Wednesday to help town officials deal with an underground fire at the town dump that has been burning for more than a week.

According to Town Manager Candice Roy, the fire began last Monday when the dump was closed. She said it was not known how the fire started, but it was not started by town officials.

She said the Oakfield Fire Department had been called to the dump several times to douse the fire, but had not been successful. She also said that heavy earth-moving equipment had been brought in, but had to be removed because it was too heavy and began to sink into the dirt over the fire. Different equipment that could reach out over the burning area was being moved onto the site Tuesday so that the site could be excavated safely, she said.

She said that when the town could not deal with the fire effectively, the DEP was notified and its assistance was requested.

“We’ve done all we could,” she said. “It’s a problem and it’s expensive, (but) we’re working on it.”

She also said that no one had called the town to complain about the fire, but at least one resident, Virginia Reed, complained to the DEP.

Reed, who lives about two miles from the dump, said the wind had carried smoke from the fire to her house. She said the smell was terrible and also presented a health problem for her son, who she said had asthma.

She said she felt the town had not done enough to deal with the problem and called the DEP herself several times since the fire began.

“I think in a week’s time, somebody should do something,” she said. “I’m sick of it.”

She questioned whether the town or the DEP were handling the problem correctly and said she might consider calling the federal Environmental Protection Agency in Boston if the problem was not solved.