Latest news with #SWFRS
Wales Online
20-05-2025
- General
- Wales Online
Mourners heartbroken as graveyard turned to ash in 'shocking act'
Mourners heartbroken as graveyard turned to ash in 'shocking act' Part of the Bedwellty graveyard was damaged by vandals Gravestones at the church have been significantly damaged (Image: Google Maps ) Around 20 graves were left with significant damage after the historic graveyard of a rural Welsh church was set on fire. The vicar described the damage as "shocking" and said he and his congregation were "suitably outraged". St Sannan's, in Bedwellty near Caerphilly, is home to a gravestone dating back to the 1770s. Reverend Matt Davis said the fire on Sunday morning had damaged a 100 square-metre area and "significantly damaged around" 20 graves but they haven't yet been able to properly access it as the ground is still hot. Rev Davis said as soon as volunteers could get safe access to the area they would be in contact with the families of the affected graves. Stay informed on Caerphilly news by signing up to our newsletter here . Reverend Davis believes around 20 graves have been damaged (Image: Parish of Bedwellty & New Tredegar ) Rev Davis said: "We only found out about it when one of my wardens saw the fire engines at the church on Sunday morning. It's quite an isolated church and we don't have any direct neighbours in the area where the fire took place. "There's nothing there which can just magically catch fire and where the fire came from there is a tree which is due to be removed so it seems they've set fire to some dead wood that was there and it's travelled across the grass. Article continues below "It is quite shocking. The pictures don't do it justice in showing how far the fire has gone or how far it could have gone. "Myself and the church community are very upset and sympathetic and suitably outraged as much of the family would be as those in the graves." Rev Davis also said they are looking for volunteers to help with the clear-up and general upkeep of the graveyard. "If anyone would be interested feel free to contact us," he added. People with family buried there flocked to the comments of a Facebook post to express their concern. One person wrote: "My grandparents are buried here. How low can some people go? No respect for anything or anyone." Someone else said: "That's disgusting. My great-grandparents are buried there in the old part." Article continues below A spokesman for South Wales Fire and Rescue said of Sunday's incident: "SWFRS received a call at approximately 11.46am to reports of smoke near St Sannans Church, Bedwellty. "Crews and an appliance from Aberbargoed attended the scene and extinguished a grass fire using a hose reel jet. Stop message was received around 12.59pm."
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
E-bike batteries pose 'fastest growing' fire risk
Lithium batteries present the "fastest growing" risk of fires, a Welsh fire and rescue service has said. The batteries, and specifically lithium-ion batteries, are used to power a number of devices including e-bikes and scooters and their chargers, mobile phones, laptops and e-vapes. Campaigning charity Electrical Safety First said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes" and want stricter rules to be introduced around their sale to reduce the risk. The UK government said it was updating product safety laws around the batteries to help keep people safe and taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe products reaching consumers. Why are modified e-bikes causing house fires? E-bike battery fire destroys family home 'An e-bike fire killed my sister in her home' The warning comes after seven people were taken to hospital earlier this month when a house fire in Cardiff was started by a lithium-ion battery-powered scooter. "The primary risk around these scooters is actually lithium-ion batteries and the thermal runaway that can happen from that," Marc Davies, home safety manager from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS), said. A thermal runaway is an accelerating increase in temperature caused by chemical reactions which can lead to fire, explosion and "unpredictable fire behaviour", according to the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council. According to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, there were 136 fires involving lithium-ion batteries in south Wales from April 2020 to March 2025, with 100 recorded in the last two years. Of those reported fires over the last five years: 30 people were injured with 24 of these occurring in the last two years 49 were accidental dwelling fires, with 34 of these occurring in the last two years. One of these incidents led to a fatality linked to a fire involving a fault in a battery charger. Of the 136 incidents, 39 involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 25 of these incidents occurring in the last two years. These led to 13 people being injured, 10 of which occurred in the last two years. There were 16 accident dwelling fires in south Wales which involved an e-scooter or an e-bike with 10 of these occurring in the last two years. These incidents led to five people injured with three of these occurring in the last two years In mid and west Wales, there were 26 incidents involving lithium batteries from 1 April 2020 to 5 May 2025. Four of these incidents involved e-bikes while one involved an e-scooter. Out of the 26 incidents, three people were injured. In north Wales there were 62 incidents from April 2022 to the end of February 2025. During that time seven fires involved an e-bike and four involved an e-scooter, leading to nine injuries. A spokesperson from Electrical Safety First, a charity which aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by electricity in UK homes, said fires caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries were "tearing through homes", putting lives at risk and causing "immense" damage to property. "These fires are especially dangerous due to the huge amount of energy that is released if a fully charged e-scooter or e-bike battery fails, triggering a process called thermal runaway which is almost impossible to stop once it has started," they said. The charity is now urging the UK government to use the new product regulation and metrology bill to introduce stricter rules around the sale of batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters to reduce the risk of a fire. A department for business and trade spokesperson said it took the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, including those linked to e-bikes and e-scooters, "very seriously". "That's why we launched our 'Buy Safe, Be Safe' campaign to raise awareness of this important issue," they said. "We are also updating our product safety laws to help keep the public safe, as well as taking action at ports and borders to stop unsafe or non-compliant products from reaching consumers." April's e-scooter blaze in Cardiff is not the only recent fire caused by an lithium-ion battery. A year earlier in March 2024, SWFRS warned of the dangers that can be posed by lithium-ion batteries after a fire gutted a family home in Newbridge, Caerphilly county. The family who lived at the house managed to escape unharmed, along with their four dogs. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Mr Davies of SWFRS said people should do their research and buy devices, batteries and chargers from reputable retailers. Otherwise there is a risk they can "overheat, catch fire and almost lead to a firework-like explosion", he said. He said other risk factors for e-scooters included wear and tear caused by kerbs, speed bumps and water ingress, having appropriate chargers and the rise of universal chargers. He warned against buying counterfeit goods as they do not meet safety standards. "You can't go wrong with ensuring something is British or UK standard, or European CE certification, and high street versus online have their own set of rules," he said. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is also urging people to dispose of lithium-ion batteries safely following several fires believed to have been caused by incorrectly discarded batteries. If damaged or crushed, they can release flammable electrolytes, leading to intense fires at waste sites. Waste fires release harmful gases, and the resulting hazardous smoke can pose serious risks to both humans and the environment, NRW said. Residues from burnt waste can also pollute surface and groundwater, leading to long-term land contamination. Nia Brunning, waste regulation and enforcement team leader at NRW, said such fires not only damage the environment "but also put local communities and emergency services at risk". E-scooter caused fire that put seven in hospital Exploding karaoke machine destroys home in fire E-bike battery warning after fire guts home
Wales Online
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Wales Online
'The dog was rattling the gate to the bedroom. I told him it was too early, then I saw the flames'
'The dog was rattling the gate to the bedroom. I told him it was too early, then I saw the flames' Anthony Fermandel, 71, was asleep when he was woken by his dog. He told him to go back to bed - but then he heard a strange noise Firefighters were tackling the blaze for almost an hour (Image: Anthony Fermandel ) A retired handyman woke at four in the morning to the sound of his dog barking to discover his car in flames the same height as the tree branches. Anthony Fermandel, 71, from Cardiff, was stunned when he discovered his Jaguar XFS had been completely destroyed right outside his house. Anthony said he had lived on his road for 15 years but had never heard of anything more than some bins being set alight. Now he has been left without a car, wondering why someone would do such a thing. Firefighters said they were called to the Pen-Y-Lan Road address at around 4.30am on Wednesday, May 14, and tackled the blaze for around an hour. Anthony's car is a complete write-off (Image: Anthony Fermandel ) Anthony described how he was asleep when he woke to a loud noise outside and the sound of his dog barking. He said: "It sounded like someone slamming a door, there was a bang, so I thought someone was going to work or whatever. "Next thing I have the dog rattling the gate to the bedroom and I'm telling him go back to bed, it's too early and he keeps rattling it. Article continues below "I hear a strange sound so I go through to the window and I could just see the flames, they were up to the branches in the tree and I could see the blue lights and the fire engine out there." "I've got no enemies or anything like that, we all get on in the street." Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here . He explained he'd bought the car two years ago and had been set on keeping it well maintained. He added: "The car was a lovely car, it was the XFS, the sports one. I never used the sports mode and never will now." The 71-year-old had just filled his car up with petrol and recently paid for a new MOT (Image: Anthony Fermandel ) Now Anthony has been left without a car and is unable to visit his daughter in Penarth. He's currently waiting to hear back from his insurance about what will happen next. "I feel a bit lost now without no car, I can't get around the same way," he said. Annoyingly for Anthony, he got a new MOT last month which cost him £600, and had topped his tank up a few days before. But he conceded that the consequences could've been much worse had his car been petrol instead of diesel. He added: "My car was diesel, if it had been petrol the car behind, which was about three and a half feet away, would've gone up with my car and blown the tank." A spokesperson from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "SWFRS received a call at approximately 04:32 to reports of a vehicle fire on Pen Y Lan Road, Cardiff. "Crews and an appliance from Roath attended the scene and extinguished the fire using one hose reel jet. "STOP message was received around 05:22." Anthony said he had reported the incident to the police and was awaiting a response. Article continues below
Wales Online
08-05-2025
- General
- Wales Online
Pub forced to close as 'ceiling collapsed' in devastating fire
Pub forced to close as 'ceiling collapsed' in devastating fire Punters say as the place burned down the ceiling fell through The Tredegar Arms, in Bassaleg, Newport A pub has announced it will be closed "until further notice" after falling victim to a devastating fire last week. The Tredegar Arms, on Caerphilly Road, in Bassaleg, Newport was evacuated after the fire began at around 10pm on Friday, May 2. The landlady says the cause of the fire has not been confirmed by the emergency services but that they believe it's source was an "electrical box" outside the pub's entrance. On the night of the fire, local resident Sarah Symonds said she could smell the smoke as soon as he left her house. "The ceiling fell right through into the pub downstairs. The place was in darkness apart from the myriad of fire engines and a police car who was directing the traffic," said Sarah. "I did ask the punters standing outside if they knew if everyone was accounted for, and the general consensus was yes, that they got everyone out quite quick." Sarah also confirmed that the pub's dog, Ellie, was rescued from the wreckage. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here . The Greene King-owned pub will remain closed as the management and owners assess the severity of the damage, and as they make any necessary repairs to the building. Article continues below The pub's staff issued the following announcement to their Facebook page: "Hi everyone, as many of you will be aware, there was a fire in our pub on Friday night which means we are closed until further notice. "Firstly and most importantly no one was harmed and we would like to thank South Wales Fire and Rescue Service for their swift attendance and for extinguishing the fire. "We don't have official confirmation yet of the cause but we believe it started in an electrical box close to the front of the pub. "Sadly this means we are temporarily closed while we assess the severity of the damage. Please do bear with us and we will provide further updates when we can. "Thank you also to everyone who was in the pub Friday night for your help in evacuating the pub promptly and safely and for the support you've offered since, it really is appreciated. "We hope to be back open as soon as we can and to see you all soon." The Tredegar Arms, is a family friendly pub that is a long-standing staple in the Bassaleg community, with a play area for children and screens which often show sports. Many of the pub's locals have described being "so sad" to hear the news of their closing, but also "so glad no one was hurt." South Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were called to the scene of the fire and crews from across Newport were in attendance. A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "SWFRS received a call at approximately 22.12 on 02/05/2025, to reports of a retail fire at the Tredegar Arms Hotel. "Crews and appliances from Malpas, Risca, Duffryn and Maindee attended the incident. "Breathing apparatus, a hose reel ground monitor jet and specialist equipment were utilised, and the fire was extinguished." Article continues below
Wales Online
08-05-2025
- General
- Wales Online
Fire crews deal with huge fire as smoke seen for miles
Fire crews deal with huge fire as smoke seen for miles Multiple fire service crews were called to the scene of a 'large fire' on an industrial estate A warning was issued to residents after firefighters were called to the scene of a large fire on an industrial estate. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire on the Pont-y-felin Industrial Estate in the New Inn area of Pontypool at 4.15pm on Thursday, May 8. Black smoke could be billowing from the industrial estate for miles. Shortly before 5pm on Thursday, South Wales Fire and Rescue posted on social media to ask residents to keep their doors and windows closed. The post said: "Fire crews are in attendance at a large fire in the New Inn area, we advise residents to keep all doors and windows closed whilst we deal with the incident." Four fire engines and two water bowsers were in attendance to try and bring the large fire under control. A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) said it was understood that rubber matting, pallets and refuse that was on fire. Article continues below Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles (Image: Jemma Sandalls ) In total, the fire service received 33 calls about the incident. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here By 8pm, the incident had concluded and all crews had left the scene. Article continues below A spokesperson for SWFRS said: "We were called to a fire at Pont-y-felin Industrial Estate at 4.15pm. We had 33 calls in total. "The incident has now concluded and we have left the scene."
