Gower College Fire – Update

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service can confirm that the fire at Gower College on Ty Coch Road, Sketty, Swansea has now been extinguished. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The fire, which was reported at 05:04 hours this morning (Friday 28 October) engulfed both the second and third floors of the four story building – and at its height had 19 fire appliances and 100 personnel on site. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Although the fire is out, firefighters will remain on scene over the next few hours to assist the College in the recovery phase. A joint fire investigation with South Wales Police will also commence later this afternoon to determine the cause of the fire. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mick Crennell has praised the work of the firefighters on scene and commended the College for the prevention measures it had in place, which stopped the fire from spreading even further. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We are pleased to report that the fire at Gower College has now been extinguished and we are in the process of handing the site back to the College for the recovery operation to begin. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I would like to personally thank our crews for their tremendous effort in containing the fire and preventing it from spreading to any other areas of the college. This was a significant incident and at its height we had 100 personnel on site – it is thanks to their professionalism and team working that we were able to deal with the incident as effectively as we did. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I’d also like to commend the College for the fire prevention measures it had in place. Although the fire was significant and much of the second and thirds floors have been destroyed, the situation could have been a whole lot worse had the fire doors not have been closed. I would urge everyone to keep their fire doors closed, they really are there for a reason and they really do work”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Pictured is one the fire doors from within the Gower College building. It is clear to see that that the door, which was engulfed by flames during the fire on one side, prevented the fire from spreading any further, with limited fire damage visible on the other side. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​