Some 150 firefighters "work non-stop" to put out a fire that has been burning for more than 24 hours at a waste energy plant in the city of Doral, in Miami-Dade County (Florida).
The authorities are monitoring the air quality in the area where a gigantic cloud of smoke was observed from the flames.
“They are doing everything they can, as quickly as possible, to put out the fire,
” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
The fire started Sunday in four of the 11 buildings at the county's Resource Recovery Center.
This Monday, work was still going on to put out the fire in two of the facilities, explained the head of the Miami-Dade Fire Department, Ray Jadallah, reported the South Florida affiliate of NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
“One of the buildings has two walls that are starting to cave in, preventing us from accessing it.
In the other, there is no passage for fire trucks or hoses due to the deformation of the metal and an imminent collapse," Jadallah explained.
The Miami-Dade Fire Department warned on Sunday on its Twitter account that conditions were dangerous due to smoke and asked people who live in the area to stay away.
Classes in Doral schools were canceled until prior notice.
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“
Residents must remain inside their houses, keep windows and doors closed
, recirculating the air inside the house,” he warned.
The mayor assured that they have carried out tests to verify the quality of the air, but that so far they have not detected "dangerous substances in the smoke," she declared.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already moved into the area, Levine said.
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The area around the fire was still covered in smoke Monday, the mayor said, urging people to stay away.
The fire is suspected to have started on a conveyor belt at the plant, according to Jadallah, who said they are still reviewing surveillance footage to determine the cause.
So far
no injuries have been reported and it is difficult to define how long it will take to extinguish the fire
, Jadallah clarified, adding that this Tuesday they will carry out an evaluation to "arrive at some type of response."
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According to information available on the county's website, the plant began operating in 1985 and "processes more than one million tons of waste per year."
“It is one of the most technologically advanced waste-to-energy facilities in the world, with a state-of-the-art air quality control system,” the site specifies.
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Garbage, including food, and waste, such as "furniture, belongings and other similar waste" are processed at the facilities.
The energy generated at the plant, which is enough to run the plant and supply energy to some 35,000 homes, is sold to a private company and supplied to the electricity grid.
The mayor of Miami-Dade assured that the total impact on the processing of garbage is still being evaluated and that no delays are foreseen in the operations to collect it from homes.