Mid and West Wales | 8 Feb 2012
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service made use of its new fleet of 4×4 Skoda Yetis during the snow over the weekend, allowing Fire Officers to access the parts that two-wheel-drive vehicles cannot reach.
Station Manager Neil Evans attended four incidents during the severe weather, and used one of the new fleet vehicles to get around in the snow and to control traffic.
Neil Evans said: “The Service has invested in these vehicles for exactly this sort of eventuality. Over the weekend, the snow was extremely thick in some places, and the 4×4 facility made a huge difference in getting around to different incidents.
“We obviously experience an increase in road traffic collisions when it snows, and using the new vehicle I was able to get around to three different incidents in a relatively short space of time – an incident in Prestigne, one in Ystrad Gynlais, and one in Pengenffordd.
“I was also able to stop on the way back from the Ystrad Gynlais incident to assist a motorist whose vehicle had jack-knifed.”
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Paul Bates said: “With these 4×4 vehicles, we are continuing to invest in our fleet to improve our responsiveness and resilience. The Skoda Yeti 4×4 cars are a great addition to our fleet, giving us real flexibility to deal with incidents in a wide variety of conditions.”
Background Briefing:
- The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service serves the following six constituent authority areas – Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Swansea, Powys and Neath Port Talbot.
- The Service covers some 4,500 square miles and makes-up almost two thirds of the landmass of Wales.
- A wide variety of risks are found within the operational area ranging from the petro-chemical industries in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire and Briton Ferry, Neath, to the risks associated with heavily populated areas such as Swansea, Port Talbot and Llanelli.
- There is an extensive farming community and many other light industries throughout the area.
- These, together with an extensive coastline and inland waterways are some of the specialised risks within the Mid and West Wales region.
