So far, the two surface fires at the Bridgeton landfill have been easy to get to. They were off to the side, not in the middle of the garbage dump that's honeycombed with underground fires.   

Pattonville Assistant Fire Chief Matt LaVanchy says they can't drive a fire truck out onto the top of a burning landfill.

"If you had to go onto the landfill with a piece of apparatus that weighs 70,000 pounds, we could potentially be putting firefighters lives at risk over burning trash," LaVanchy told KMOX's Kevin Killeen. "We'd have to verify the ground was stable and there was no collapse potential. And if that's the case, do I put firefighters directly above that?"