Escambia County Waste Services, Environmental Code Enforcement, Public Safety and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection responded to a fire at the Rolling Hills Landfill located at 6990 Rolling Hills Road. County code enforcement and public safety staff noticed heavy smoke coming from the landfill area early this morning. After investigating, the source of the fire was identified as a large mound of land clearing debris located in the southeast area of the property designated for land clearing debris disposal. The property owner mobilized manpower and equipment and was able to cover the fire while county crews remained on standby. Escambia County Environmental Code Enforcement has posted a staff member to monitor the fire for the next 24 hours while a plan for any further needed fire suppression is made with the guidance of FDEP. Escambia County continues to work with the landfill owners and FDEP to implement a closure plan for the construction and demolition disposal portion of the site.
The fire should not impact the levels of hydrogen sulfide gas, or H2S, in the Wedgewood Community. Escambia County’s Natural Resources Management Department has been working directly with local residents, and all data collected by the monitoring stations provides state and local officials with the tools necessary to evaluate the potential risk to public health and issue advisories as necessary. Residents can view the average and peak daily values of the gas online at http://myescambia.com/community/air-quality-monitoring. The data is updated every Friday.
Citizens who wish to sign up to receive health alerts via mobile text and email may do so by contacting Brent Wipf, Environmental Programs Manager, Water Quality & Land Management Division, at [email protected] or at (850) 595-3445. For more information, contact the Office of Community and Media Relations at (850) 595-3476 and follow @MyEscambia on Twitter.
