The Tenerife Cabildo has confirmed the complete extinguishment of the fire that kept the Isle of Tenerife Solid Waste Plant (PIRS) in Arico on high alert for over 36 hours. The flames, which originated in an area adjacent to the sorting facility, affected a surface area of 200 square metres, destroying bales of cardboard and plastic that had already been processed.
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, expressed her deep gratitude to the emergency teams, highlighting their work as being completed “in record time.” In her statements, she emphasised that the swift intervention of professionals managed to protect the “heart of our plant”, preventing the fire from spreading to other vital areas of the facilities.
A large deployment of resources was involved in the firefighting efforts. The Tenerife Fire Consortium mobilised a total of six Heavy Urban Pumps (BUP) and five Urban Water Tankers (BUN), in addition to command and control units, personnel and equipment, along with a self-storage unit.
Joining them were volunteer firefighters from Granadilla, Güímar, Guía de Isora, and Adeje, Forest Brigades, officers from the Guardia Civil and Local Police, Civil Protection, a preventive resource from the Canary Emergency Service (SUC), and CECOPIN.
The councillor for Natural Environment, Security and Emergencies noted that with the fire now extinguished, the priority is to begin recovery efforts in the affected area. At the same time, the Guardia Civil has commenced investigations to determine the causes of the fire.
From today, operations at the plant have resumed normally, although constant monitoring will be maintained to prevent any potential flare-up of the flames.
