£250k damage at Mountain Rescue base after fire

On Saturday a fire broke out at the base of the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue team in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, destroying and severely damaged at least £250,000 worth of vehicles, emergency rescue and medical equipment.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service believe the blaze, which has left the mountain rescue team without a fully functioning base, started accidentally.

The team have said they will continue to work at one of their busiest periods heading to Christmas.

A spokesperson said: “Central Beacons team members have responded to 130 call-outs so far this year including injured walkers and climbers, missing persons and animals and swift water incidents. The devastating fire comes at a critical time of year, with the run-up to Christmas always a busy period. In the short term, we will continue with this life-saving community service, relying on our own cars and equipment, with the support of South Wales Police and our mountain rescue colleagues – but it could be 12 months or more before we can fully recover and replace everything we’ve lost.”

Neighbours of the base raised the alarm when they saw smoke was coming out of the building. In the blaze, the main rescue vehicle and two 4x4 vehicles were destroyed.

The service has no funding and buys all of its equipment through donations. The service has said it is insured but has now started an online funding campaign to purchase new equipment. A target of £250,000 has been set, and £8,000 has already been raised since Saturday.

A statement on the online funding page said: “Your donations will help us repair or replace our three mountain rescue vehicles and the vital emergency equipment we need to continue helping our community.

“It will also enable us to repair the fire, smoke and water-damage to our premises.

“We’ve a long task ahead of us. So thank you in anticipation for all your support.”