A third school was forced to close its doors and send students home early as plumes of smoke emanating from the still burning dump fire is reportedly posing health and environmental dangers.

Officials at St. John’s College were forced to send their students home at noon yesterday.

Up to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday many parents who scrambled from work to collect their children were still seen pulling them from the smoky school campus.

The Bahama Journal spoke with one the mother of a tenth grade student, Carolyn Edwards who described the dump fire issue as a vexing annual problem.

“I feel that the minister of environment needs to do something, you have a school in this area and it is affecting the children,” she said.

“My son is in grade 10 and I had to keep him home last week because of the smoke. I feel for those persons who live in the area with new born babies or children with asthma or respiratory problems.”

Another parent, Alfred Campbell shared the same sentiments and said the issue is “absolutely ridiculous.”

“I think it’s a travesty and an absolute disgrace, the government needs to move the dump away from the city,” he said.

“I think it’s imperative that they do that, it’s not good for the children, it’s bad pollution and who knows what they may get as a result of it. The government needs to work fast to find some kind of conclusion to the situation.”

Mr. Campbell added he lives in the area and that he has to keep his windows at home closed.

St. John’s is not the only school that has been affected by the fire that has been burning since March 7.

Aquinas College closed for one day on Friday and The Meridian School closed its doors for a few days last week for the same issue.

At least two separate fires have occurred at the land fill a few weeks ago and fire fighters have been working to contain and extinguish the mountain of burning tires and garbage ever since.