Series of fire service failures saw public tackling blaze

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by the Argus revealed that in a control system failure, SWFRS deployed appliances from Blaenavon and Brynmawr fire station who were busy and unable to attend the scene, to a fire and a children's boxing gym in Abergavenny, on Friday, September 27.

It took the fire service seven minutes to realise that no one was heading to the fire, by which point Abergavenny Boxing Gym was up in flames.

The boxing gym was destroyed. (Image: Abergavenny Boxing Club)

23 minutes later, appliances from New Inn and Ebbw Vale arrived to tackle the blaze, which had spread into neighbouring properties, and yet another community non-profit, the award-winning Wye Valley Slot Car Club.

The incident was a "massive setback" to the club, according to founder Leighton Jones.

Business owners at the time were confused as to why Abergavenny Fire Station were not involved in the incident.

This was because the station has lost it's 'key station status,' as of September 2024, meaning it is manned only overnight, and so rarely 'on the run' in firefighting terms, which is a vast difference to a few years ago when the station had 20+ firefighters working there at any given time.

In the FOI request, it was also revealed that the new key station in the area is Monmouth Fire Station, 20 minutes drive from Abergavenny.

"With the size of Abergavenny, it seems ludicrous for them to not have an active fire station," said Leighton Jones.

"That is just a major accident waiting to happen."

The club is hoping to reopen at the end of the month after extensive cleaning work and repairs. (Image: WVSCC) When asked about how he feels that his non-profit organisation could have been untouched if the fire service had responded to the first call, Leighton said he was "disappointed."

 "It was lucky no one was present at the time of the incident."

"Errors like this put people's lives at risk. The impact of the fire is immaterial on what could have happened, or what could happen in future," he said.

Due to the fire service taking so long to turn up, residents were taking matters into their own hands by entering the building to tackle the fire themselves, according to witnesses.

"People were going inside and trying to put the fire out themselves," said a witness recalling the incident to the Argus. "They could have died."

The route of these issues being faced by the fire service is recruitment. A spokesperson said: "concentrated efforts are being made with a robust recruitment strategy being formulated."