Photo: Tim Jones
Photo: Gail Jones
Mid & West Wales Fire Service:
Safe and Well Visits
A Safe and Well Visit includes all the contents of the home fire safety checks but will also include other safety messages that may be relevant to the people living in the property. The five main additional topics will cover
- Smoking cessation
- Home security
- Falls prevention
- Scamming awareness
- Tackling loneliness and isolation
With the potential for further subjects to be added over time.
More advice
If you would like some more advice call us on 0800 169 1234 to talk about the possibility of a Safe and Well Visit by Fire and Rescue Service personnel. If you have a defective alarm which was installed by the Fire and Rescue Service, please contact 0800 169 1234 for a replacement or email saw@mawwfire.gov.uk.
The provision of smoke alarms and other home safety items by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service is supported by funding from Welsh Government.
Their website has lots of great information including protecting your home, cooking safely, candle safety, electrical safety, portable heaters, white goods, Carbon Monoxide safety, smoke alarms, chimneys and open fires and woodburning stoves.
https://www.mawwfire.gov.uk/eng/your-safety/in-your-home/protecting-your-home/
Farm Fire Safety: https://www.mawwfire.gov.uk/eng/your-safety/farm-fire-safety/
Welsh Govt website, full of advice: https://www.gov.wales/fire-rescue
Photo: Gail Jones
WILDFIRES
Impact
The effects of wildfires are numerous and wide-ranging. They can have significant impacts on the economy, environment, heritage and social fabric of rural areas. Economic costs range from direct costs associated with emergency resources, to loss of income from the land following wildfire incidents and damage to property. For the firefighters, larger wildfires can be difficult to deal with due to terrain and accessibility. Sometimes, the extreme temperatures and longer travel distances carrying equipment make working conditions even harder. This can often mean that multiple crews are detained over several days meaning appliances must travel from further afield to attend other emergencies in the area affected.
Reducing arson
Arson Reduction is a problem-solving team within Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service dedicated to reducing and eliminating deliberate fire-setting. The team consists of a seconded Police Officer, a Fire Officer and three specialist arson advisors who ensure that all incidents are investigated and analysed to make our communities safer. The team works closely with its partners to target problematic areas and to consistently develop ways of reducing arson and to identify who or what may be affected.
What we do
The Arson Reduction Team and Farm Liaison Officer work with land management teams / Commoners / Graziers to introduce a Wildfire Policy – controlled burning (between 1st October and 31st March) and introduce fire breaks. We coordinate with partners to carry out patrols and surveillance in hot spot areas using technology such as UAV’s and CCTV for the prevention and detection of crime.
What does fire setting look like within your community?
We have seen that arson not only destroys homes and lives, but it can devastate the environment. Reducing arson helps to protect the places we live, work, learn and spend our leisure time. We want to protect our communities from anti-social behaviour linked to fire setting, such as fly-tipping, dangerous or illegal waste burning and vandalism within schools and colleges In the last few years we have also seen an increase in the threat of arson arising from domestic abuse and violence in the home and through our collective aims, we will strive to both identify these events through wider awareness of each of the Joint Arson Group Partners to bring such perpetrators to justice while at the same time ensuring an effective response is in place to support victims of such a crime. We want to deliver a cultural shift across Wales so that communities view arson as socially unacceptable and are active in terms of community resilience.
Safety Advice to reduce the risk of Accidental Fires
- Extinguish cigarettes and other smoking material properly - don’t let them start a grass fire!
- Only use BBQs in suitable and safe areas – NEVER leave them unattended!
- When you’re having a BBQ, keep a bucket of water or sand nearby for emergencies
- Clear away bottles, glasses and any broken glass to avoid them magnifying the sun and starting a fire
- Explain to children the dangers of playing with and lighting fires
- Dispose of smoking materials such as cigarettes safely
To ensure that we can respond to your emergencies quickly we need you to protect your community from deliberate fires and report anti-social gatherings. Starting a deliberate fire is a criminal offence and you could end up with a criminal record as a result of starting a deliberate fire.
You can help by calling the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 if you see anyone setting deliberate fires.
Arson is a Crime.
If you have any information, please contact the Arson Reduction Team on 01792 705 130
If you witness someone deliberately starting a grass fire, call the Police on 999 or find evidence of deliberate grass fire setting call the Arson Reduction team on 0370 6060 699 or email arson.reduction@mawwfire.gov.uk