Lessons have not been learned from massive trash fires which have plagued Bermuda in recent years, the United Bermuda Party claimed yesterday.

Works and Engineering is today expected to break its silence over whether Monday's Tynes Bay Incinerator blaze — when a 50-feet pile of garbage is thought to have self-ignited — was caused because waste was piled too high due to problems at the plant.

So far, the Ministry has declined to say whether the mound which caught fire, described by firefighters as the height of a four-storey building, was higher than usual.

Last year's week-long Pembroke Dump fire, and a massive Tynes Bay blaze at Christmas 2004, have both been blamed on a failure to deal with giant heaps of trash.

Last night, Shadow Works Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin called for Works Minister Derrick Burgess to explain how Monday's five-hour blaze happened and report any breakdown in procedures at Tynes Bay.

"We'd like to express our concern in the wake of this week's Tynes Bay Incinerator fire that Works and Engineering has not learned lessons from past fires," said Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin in a statement.

"Most of Bermuda will remember last year's Pembroke dump fire which blazed for days after an unacceptably high mountain of refuse self-ignited. A few years earlier, a huge fire broke out in the incinerator itself when broken machinery caused a pile-up of trash.

"This week's fire appears to be a similar case of spontaneous combustion in which an unacceptably high pile of trash — reports put it as high as 50 feet — ignited.

"Media reports on the fire have been notable for their lack of comment by the Minister or officials. We therefore call on the Minister to explain the causes of the blaze and the pile up of garbage and to report on any breakdown in procedures.

"We also are looking to the Minister to assure the public that competent managers or correct procedures are in place to ensure safety and continuous operation."

Over the past few days, people have contacted The Royal Gazette to say they had been turned away from the incinerator in the days leading up to the fire, with staff telling them large items were not being accepted until the end of April.

They have said this situation could have partly caused the roadside dumping of bulky household items featured in our Let's Fix It photographs last week.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin added: "We want to know if these people were being turned away because of conditions that eventually caused Monday's fire. It is important that the public is made aware of bottleneck problems as they will be able to better manage their own waste disposal and not allow their frustrations to cause them to dump their bulk in public areas.

"No one wants to hire a truck to take away bulk, only to find that they have not really disposed of it because the incinerator refuses to accept it."

She added: "We have been lucky so far with these fires, particularly given the hazard they can pose to people's health. We've also been lucky that fires have not crippled incinerator operations, which could easily lead to a catastrophic interruption in Bermuda's waste treatment."

Tynes Bay has now reopened, with the Corporation of Hamilton yesterday confirming trash collection would resume as normal.

Works and Engineering has not responded to our questions over whether the trash was unusually high, or why residents were turned away. A spokesman said a full reply was likely today.