RESIDENTS of a tower block in Newport say they’re increasingly “fed up” after two fires started in the building within the space of a week.
Fire crews were called to reports of a blaze at Greenwood tower block in the St Julians area of the city at around 11pm on Thursday, February 3.
It follows a spate of arson attacks that have hit the St Julians and Beechwood areas in recent weeks.
A similar fire broke out at the building late on Thursday, January 27. Read more about that incident here.
It’s understood that the fire originated in the tower block’s bin store – the same location as another fire last week.
People living in the building say they’ve noticed a considerable rise in the number of break ins, with youths forcing entry to the foyer of the tower block and falsely setting off fire alarms.
Newport City Homes has now confirmed it will introduce around-the-clock security at Greenwood tower block whilst it considers the longer term safety of the building.
However, unlike with the previous fire, automated sprinklers installed in the building did not activate – fire crews said this was because residents had attempted to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.
It’s thought that nobody living in the tower block suffered any injuries and fire crews left the scene at around 1.15am on Friday morning.
One resident described the fire – a carbon copy of last week’s blaze – as very strange.
“Everybody is really well and truly fed up,” they told the Argus.
“People are very angry here – they’re concerned for their own safety, and I think many people feel that these problems with youths breaking in aren’t being dealt with quicky enough.”
A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue said: “At approximately 11.51pm on Thursday, February 3, 2022, we received reports of a domestic fire on Beaufort Road in St Julians, Newport.
“Multiple crews from Stations across South Wales attended the scene and used specialist equipment to extinguish the fire.
“A stop message was received at approximately 1.15am on Friday, February 4, 2022.”
Sonia Furzland, executive director of operations at Newport City Homes said: "We are aware of a fire in a bin chute at Greenwood high rise building in St Julians in the early hours of this morning.
“We are very concerned that there have been two fires at Greenwood in the last week.
“Our colleagues are on site, and we are working closely with Gwent Police, supporting their ongoing investigation with CCTV footage.
As a temporary measure, we are bringing on 24/7 security at Greenwood while we consult with customers about a more regular concierge service on site."
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