Fire crews are halfway through battle to extinguish tip fire

FIREFIGHTERS and council workers continue to battle the blaze at Lismore Recovery and Recycling Centre eight days on.

BIG GUNS: Fire & Rescue NSW have brought a Hytrans Unit last deployed in Lismore after the 2017 Floods, to help extinguish the compost fire which has been burnin gsince August 11. Picture: F&R NSW Trent Brown

EIGHT days after emergency services responded to a fire at the Lismore Resource & Recycling Centre, the hard, dirty work of extinguishing the smouldering mulch continues.

Fire & Rescue NSW Inspector Gary White said a squad of eight firefighters from Lismore Fire Station is currently working on the fire along with Lismore City Council staff operating excavators at the East Lismore site.

He said working on the massive incident was a team effort between firefighters and Lismore city Council and he said they are nearly half-way there.

"We are out here again today and using the Hytrans pump brought up from Sydney,” he said.

"Using the water monitors we are spraying the piles of mulch and the excavator operators are pulling the piles apart.”

Mr White said the work involved is intense to ensure the mulch piles are completely extinguished and there's a lot more involved than simply putting wet stuff on the hot stuff.

"It's a football field size area with nine piles of organic green waste and I estimate we are between 40 and 50 per cent through putting out the fire,” he said.

"We are systematically working through all the nine massive piles with three excavators.”

Mr White said retained firefighters were ensuring the town was covered in the case of any incidents.

"Coverage is provided by the Goonellabah Fire Station,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NSW Environment Protection Authority reported air quality at East Lismore is currently in the "very good range”.

EPA said in response to an ongoing fire at the Wyrallah Rd Waste Facility it requested that Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) establish a mobile air quality monitoring pod in East Lismore.

The monitoring pod is located close to a residential area off Wyrallah Rd in East Lismore, to conduct continued monitoring of air quality which has been affected by smoke from the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre.

The mobile air monitoring pod measures visibility (NEPH), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen dioxide (NOx), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and airborne particulate matter as PM10 (particles less than 10 µm in diameter) and PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5µm in diameter).

In addition, meteorological parameters of wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity are being monitored.

Residents are advised to use this information to guide their daily activities and avoid smoke exposure to protect their health.

Additional information about waste collections services can be found on the Lismore City Council website.

The EPA advises residents if it looks smoky outside, stay indoors if possible until the air clears and if you are outside avoid strenuous exercise and heavy work.

Questions about the status or management of the fire should be directed council.

In case of emergency, always remember to dial Triple Zero (000).