Monday, September 30, at approximately 3:20 pm, Pettis County Fire Dept. responded to Central Missouri Landfill on Oak Grove Lane to a report of a large fire. PCFD received calls of possible explosions at the location. Once PCFD arrived on scene, there was a large amount of shredded tires that they use to weigh down the tarps to prevent soil erosion of the hillside, that had caught on fire. The fire was moving fast towards the impacted trash area.
After investigation, there was not any equipment on fire and no explosions. PCFD started a water shuttle with several tankers to drop tanks to provide apparatus with water to fight the fire. PCFD also used the foam application from the apparatus to assist in fighting the fire.
The initial cause of the blaze was possibly a spark from the equipment that pushes the trash and compacts it. Central Missouri Landfill Management was extremely helpful in assisting with heavy equipment to help put the fire out.
PCFD had the fire under control in about 2 hours and remained on scene until approximately 8:30pm hitting hot spots to make sure the fire stayed under control.
During this process, PCFD was monitoring the air quality and the direction of the smoke. Due to no wind, the smoke from the fire was rising straight up which did not affect air quality. With all fires, this is something we monitor for the safety of the public and our Firefighters.
PCFD had 9 Pumper Tankers/WaterTankers, 3 Pumpers, 3 Service trucks, 3 Brush trucks,
and approximately 30 firefighters on scene. No injuries were reported.
Information from Pettis County Fire Department; Photo from Sedalia-Pettis County Emergency Management Agency
