Large wood chip fire in Maesteg

At 15:57 on Wednesday 2nd March, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire at the Old Llynfi Power Station, Llangwynyd, Maesteg. A crew from Maesteg was mobilised to a deep seated fire involving a large amount of wood chip stored externally at the site. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Watch Manager Matthew Bradford, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said, “We worked closely with our Fire Control staff to determine the extent of the incident, which ensured that as a Service we could successfully manage the situation, reducing the risk to life, building damage and overall impact of the business.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are continuing to work closely with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the site owners to manage and extinguish the fire which involves approximately 2000 tonnes of recycled wood chip material. On site contractors with excavators and site fire fighting equipment are working under the guidance of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service to manage the wood chip stack affected by the fire and to reduce the risk of fire spread. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service advise business owners in the recycling sector to: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

• Ensure that you have completed an up-to-date fire safety assessment
• Ensure that you have an up-to-date Fire Prevention Plan in place.
• Ensure that your site complies with permitting conditions enforced by NRW
• Liaise with the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Fire Safety Officer for inspection and audit of your premises