Fire probe at Jatiwaringin landfill to start after extinguishing: Govt

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) - The investigation into the cause of the fire at the Jatiwaringin Landfill in Tangerang, Banten, will begin after the completion of the firefighting efforts, as informed by the Environment Ministry.

The ministry is currently prioritizing efforts to extinguish the fire and prevent the spread of smoke from the landfill fire.

"Our focus now is on extinguishing the fire and preventing its spread. We cannot yet process the crime scene to determine the cause," the ministry's Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement, Inspector General Rizal Irawan, said on Sunday.

According to him, investigative steps and disclosures for law enforcement will only be taken after the entire firefighting process at the Jatiwaringin landfill is declared complete.

He informed that the landfill previously received administrative sanctions from the authority in 2025 for poor management.

In addition to imposing the sanctions, the ministry instructed the local government, as the site manager, to adopt a controlled landfill system.

"Since last year, the district government has been developing a controlled landfill, but has only managed to cover five or six hectares. Given the site's total area of 33 hectares, completing the work within a year is unrealistic," Irawan conveyed.

He explained that the hotspot that sparked the massive fire at the landfill was outside the controlled landfill management zone.

He added that the Ministry of Environment is currently scheduling a major evaluation of 390 landfills across Indonesia, which will begin in early August 2026.

Previously, Deputy Minister of Environment Diaz Hendropriyono said firefighting efforts at the Jatiwaringin Landfill were continuing through a joint operation involving multiple agencies.

The ministry has also deployed thermal drones equipped with infrared cameras to locate the source of the fire and identify hotspots.

The ministry will next deploy two mobile monitoring units to assess air quality at the fire site by measuring sulfur dioxide (SO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), PM1.0, and PM2.5 levels.

"The standard for good quality is 15.5, and moderate levels are from 15.5 to 55.5, and above that is unhealthy and dangerous level. Meanwhile, the level in this area has reached 1,000 for a few days, but last night it has dropped drastically," he explained.

With similar characteristics to peatland fires, the government has deployed 30 Manggala Agni personnel from Sulawesi and West Java.

According to Diaz, the teams have extensive experience and specialized high-pressure equipment capable of extinguishing fires beneath the surface of waste piles.

Furthermore, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) have prepared a Weather Modification Technology (TMC) operation scheme to expedite extinguishing efforts.

This will allow the emergency situation surrounding the fire, which has covered approximately 15 hectares, to be quickly brought under control.

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Translator: Azmi Syamsul, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Editor: Azis Kurmala

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