FIRE FIGHTERS WILL continue to monitor the temperature and condition of Kerdiffstown dump, which was the site of a spontaneous combustion and fire last month.

Celina Barrett, Kildare’s chief fire officer, told The Journal that fire fighting at the site had ended but due to the unstable nature of the dump it would continue to be monitored.

“We want to make sure it’s out,” she said. “We still have fire fighters on site and we are monitoring the temperature. We hope to be able to say it is out next week.”

It is believed the spontaneous combustion occurred 30 metres below the surface of the landfill. The resulting fire sent large plumes of white smoke across Kerdiffstown and the town of Naas and caused much upset in the local area.

Fire fighters from Kildare will remain on site every day next week until the fire is declared completely out.

Ms Barrett said the fire services – which included brigades from Kildare, Laois, Carlow, Dublin and Wicklow – worked alongside the Environmental Protection Agency and Kildare Co Council to fight the fire.

“Hopefully next week we can declare it safe,” she said of the landfill site.

In May, the EPA was granted a court order preventing Neiphin Trading, the operators of the Kerdiffstown site, from accepting any further waste.