A NEWPORT tower block which has seen a number of fires started in its bin storage area has once again been targeted, it has been confirmed.

Emergency services were called to the Greenwood tower block on Beaufort Road, in the St Julians area of the city, at around 9.24pm yesterday - Wednesday, April 20.

It came as a result of reports of a fire in the bin storage area.

At this stage, it might sound like a familiar story, and indeed, this is the fourth bin store fire at the building in 2022.

Thankfully, following the earlier fires, new fire detection systems and sprinklers were installed, and these worked as designed, extinguishing the blaze by the time that the emergency services had arrived.

Crews from Maindee, Cwmbran, Duffryn and New Inn fire stations were scrambled to the scene.

But, with the fire already extinguished, they were instead tasked with clearing smoke from the residential floors inside the tower.

They used specialist thermal imaging cameras to ensure that the building was in a safe condition.

It is not thought that anyone was injured as a result of the most recent fire.

Read more: Residents 'fed up' after second tower block fire in St Julians in a week

Work to prevent future incidents

Gwent Police, the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and Newport City Homes have  now released a joint statement, condemning those responsible for the fire.

They have stressed that community engagement work, including workshops, are taking place to “address the number of fire-related incidents at the premises”.

In addition, extra security patrols have been put in place over the last few weeks and months, in a bid to prevent further incidents.

Today, Newport City Homes - which operates the Greenwood tower block, has revealed that extra CCTV will be installed.

What did the fire service say?

A South Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “At approximately 9.24pm on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, we received reports of a domestic fire on Beaufort Road in St Julians, Newport.

“Crews from Maindee, Cwmbran, Duffryn and New Inn Stations attended the scene, but upon arrival the fire had been extinguished by the onsite sprinkler system. Firefighters proceeded to manually clear smoke from residential floors of the building and utilised specialist thermal imaging cameras. A stop message was received at approximately 10.33pm.

“South Wales Fire and Rescue Service have been working in partnership with Newport City Homes and Gwent Police to provide safety information and workshops to engage with the community to address the number of fire-related incidents at the premises.

“Our Community Safety Teams have held joint action days with our partners to engage with residents, offer free home safety checks and provide advice and guidance from our Business Fire Safety specialists should it be required.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to reduce risk and help keep residents and our communities safe.”

Gwent Police were also in attendance to manage traffic and assist with the fire service's efforts.

What has Newport City Homes said?

Sonia Furzland, executive director of operations at Newport City Homes said: "We are aware of a fire in a bin store at Greenwood building in St Julians yesterday. Our fire detection system and sprinklers worked as they are designed to do, putting out the fire and preventing its spread.

“We are very concerned that there have been four fires in bin stores at Greenwood in the last few months, and are concerned that the fires might have been started deliberately. We are working closely with Gwent Police and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service to fully determine the cause and identify any people responsible.’

“Customer safety continues to be our number one priority. Our colleagues are on site daily and are meeting with residents at Greenwood, keeping everyone involved and informed. We have introduced an on-site security presence and are adding additional CCTV cameras. “