How Taiwan is preparing for fire at waste storage sites
Iain Hoey
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Fire guidance released at Taiwan symposium
Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment released the Guidelines for Disaster Waste Management during a symposium on fire prevention and emergency response for waste storage sites held on 11 March 2026.
The ministry said the event was held under the guidance of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Disaster Management and in collaboration with the National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior.
The symposium examined fire prevention and emergency response at waste storage and landfill sites during extreme climate events.
Discussions used practical case studies including the fire at the temporary waste site in Wushulin, Tainan.
Frontline personnel from local environmental protection and firefighting agencies joined central government representatives and academic experts to discuss risk identification, management guidance, air pollution monitoring and on-site environmental detection strategies.
Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng said: “He emphasized that improperly handled large volumes of disaster-generated waste can lead to severe environmental pollution, and that dredged sediment must also be properly managed to prevent secondary disasters.”
He also said the Executive Yuan is working to amend the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act to establish a unified disaster management system from central to local levels.
Waste site response and future guidance
The Ministry of Environment said the symposium focused on risk prevention, firefighting operations and environmental management.
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming said managing the large amounts of waste generated immediately after disasters has become a core issue in national disaster prevention.
Peng said disaster waste can pose environmental threats without proper risk identification and classification.
He said management strategies must shift from end-of-pipe disposal to source prevention in order to establish what he described as a resilient management system.
Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang of the National Fire Agency said fires at waste storage sites often involve deep-seated combustion, with accumulated heat and limited access to the core making extinguishment more difficult.
Hsiao said firefighting units use segmentation and isolation, localized excavation and point-by-point extinguishing, alongside mobile water cannons, firefighting robots, aerial drone surveillance, heavy machinery excavation and waterline protection.
The ministry said recommendations from the symposium will be used to develop future Guidelines for Fire Prevention and Rescue at Waste Landfills and Temporary Storage Sites.
It said those guidelines will be combined with the Guidelines for Disaster Waste Management to give local governments a reference for daily management, inspections, training and rescue operations.
