Three fire engines overturn fighting blaze on mountain
THREE fire engines crashed in separate incidents while firefighters desperately battled a gorse fire on a steep Welsh mountainside.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said there were three incidents involving their off-road fire engines during the past few days as fire crews enter the third week of battling the blaze on Llantysilio Mountain, Denbighshire.
It is understood all three fire engines overturned on the steep terrain.
Dozens of firefighters have been on the scene of the huge fire on the mountain since it started two weeks ago.
The fire service have launched an investigation into how the engines overturned and added that nobody had been seriously hurt.
Senior Operations Manager Stuart Millington said: “There have been three incidents involving specialist off road vehicles attending the mountainside fire near Llangollen – one occurred early last Friday morning, one on Saturday evening and one earlier [yesterday] morning.
“We have ensured the members of staff involved have all received appropriate medical checks – and thankfully no one has been seriously hurt.
“Investigations are now under way into these incidents. We would not expect such incidents to be a normal occurrence – they are as a result of the exceptional conditions in which we have been working.”
Cerith Griffiths, regional secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, said the incidents proved the dangerous situation firefighters found themselves in.
He said: “It goes to show that while these are off-road vehicles, the terrain they are trying to work with is really quite dangerous and that combined with trying to extinguish these fires puts a lot of pressure on firefighters.
“A lot of these firefighters are part time but they are carrying out a full time job at the moment.
“This mountain has been burning for days and it is obviously tough and arduous conditions and some have been on duty for days on end trying to deal with this.
“I know the fire service have had to draft in firefighters from across North Wales.”
Mr Griffiths added that he had been “overwhelmed” to see the amount of support from the public while crews battle the blaze on the mountain.
Yesterday, five fire engines were still on the scene battling to bring the fire under control.
One lane of the Horseshoe Pass which runs from Llangollen towards Ruthin – has now been opened by the fire service.
The Ponderosa Cafe, which is close to the scene of the fire, had to be evacuated after the blaze became too close to the building over the weekend.
It has now been re-opened, but the owners did ask people to keep away unless absolutely necessary.
Owner Simon Clemence said: “The devastation this fire has caused to our beautiful area is heartbreaking but hopefully now we can move forward.
“Can I just take this time to thank all emergency services involved they truly are commendable without their bravery and determination I don’t think the Ponderosa would be standing.”