INVESTIGATIONS have found the Vunato rubbish dump site fire was deliberately lit by individuals who illegally accessed the area after hours to collect scrap metal. The chairperson of Lautoka City Council’s special administrators, Taitusi Rasoki, revealed this yesterday while providing an update on the ongoping fire at the site.
“Council security identified two suspects found in the same area before the fire began, and the council is liaising with the security and Fiji Police Force on the matter,” Mr Rasoki said.
“The dump was not set alight by the council as claimed by some people. The council will never engage in such illegal acts. In fact, it tried its best to prevent the spread of the fire to three other sections.
“Similar fires have occurred in the past, often deliberately set by scrap collectors attempting to expose metals within waste piles.”
Mr Rasoki said the council strongly condemned such reckless and illegal acts.
“In recent months, two smaller fires occurred at night and were fully extinguished within 2–3 hours through joint efforts by the National Fire Authority and the council.
“However, the current fire is the largest in many years. Despite 24-hour on-site security, monitoring the entire 45-acre landfill remains a challenge, especially at night.”
Mr Rasoki said the council acknowledged the continued support of the National Fire Authority.
“During this incident, a misunderstanding, unfortunately, led to a delay in the initial response, which contributed to the spread of the fire. The Ministry of Environment has also been kept informed and is monitoring the situation.
“The council has managed to extinguish one section while smoke is being emitted from two other sections. However, the active fire is controlled and there is no threat of spreading.
“Controlling a landfill fire is very challenging compared to bush or property fire due to different underground layers of aged rubbish. Hence, it is taking a bit of time.”
Council manages hotel waste
THE Lautoka City Council manages waste from Lautoka, Nadi Town, Nadi rural and Denarau Island.
Of this, 30 per cent of the total trash is hotel waste, said Taitusi Rasoki, the chairperson of the council’s special administrators while presenting an update yesterday on the ongoing fire at the Vunato dump site.
He also said a feasibility study for a new Western Division regional landfill focused on resource recovery is being funded in the 2025/2026 National Budget.
“The council looks forward to working with the Government, NFA, Fiji police, and other stakeholders to improve waste management in Thick smoke rises from the Vunato rubbish dump in Lautoka.
Mr Rasoki appealed to the public, especially nearby residents, for patience and cooperation while firefighting and smoke control efforts continue.
He said public support, vigilance, and compliance with landfill access restrictions are critical to ensuring everyone’s safety.
“Hence, the council needs support from dump users, the Government, NFA and donor agencies to assist during these challenging circumstances so we can manage the landfill more effectively while awaiting the new landfill which may take some time to be commissioned.”
“The council treats this dump smoke issue very seriously.”
He said that apart from a few individuals and social media posts, there has been no media report or advisory released from health authorities on any health emergency or increasing cases of respiratory related illness.
