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​Head of Response
 ​
​

Craig Thomas

 ​
Tel: 0370 6060699
Email: powys@mawwfire​.gov.uk
 

​Powys is the largest county in Wales, covering a quarter of Wales’ landmass. The county stretches from the border of Wrexham and Gwynedd in the north, to the Swansea Valley and Monmouthshire in the south. It borders Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in the west, Shropshire and Herefordshire in the east.

To the south the county also contains a substantial part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

At 5,197 square kilometres, Powys is twice the size of the next largest county in Wales and has a population of 131,313 people living in 60918 households. This makes it the most sparsely populated county in England and Wales at only 25 people per square kilometre. Nearly 90,000 hectares of Powys falls within the nationally significant landscape of the Brecon Beacons National Park, which provides local enjoyment and generates significant tourism business.

There are upwards of 290 operational and support staff within the Command, operating 23 major pumping appliances and 18 specialist and support vehicles, based in fire stations located in each of the eighteen principal towns in Powys. The County Command Headquarters is based at the new Combined Services Headquarters in Llandrindod Wells.

Due to the size of Powys service delivery is divided into two groups. The North Powys Group are based at Llanidloes Road, Newtown, and the South Powys Group are based at the Llandrindod Wells site, with a further base at Camden Road, Brecon to provide a geographical coverage for this vast area.

 
​ ​Name: Rob Rayner
Title: Response Manager (North Powys)
Tel: 01792 705008
Email: r.rayner@mawwfire.gov.uk​
​ ​Name: Simon Prince
Title: Response Manager (South Powys)
Tel: 01792 705008
Email: s.prince@mawwfire.gov.uk
​ ​Name: Andrew Richards
Title: Response Manager (Powys)
Tel: 01792 705033
Email: a.richards@mawwfire.gov.uk
Prevention

When a fire breaks out it spreads so quickly that by the time the Fire and Rescue Service arrives it is often too late. The same can be said for Road Traffic Collisions, once the collision has occurred the damage has been done. The most effective way of protecting people from the effects of accidents and emergencies is to prevent the incidents happening in the first place.

We therefore focus on giving free safety education to all members of the public.

Our preventative activities are based upon the type of incidents we attended, the five main categories are:

• Home Safety 

• Schools Education 

• Road Safety

• Youth Engagement

• Arson

Protection

Fire Safety Officers undertake inspections of various public buildings and workplaces to keep the public safe from fire. We do this by,

  • Ensuring fire safety protection is designed into new or materially altered homes, offices and other buildings. This involves working closely with Building Control to ensure Building Regulation Standards are met.

  • Inspection, through Fire Safety Legislation, which sets out employers’ and others’ responsibilities for providing and maintaining a safe environment. 

  • Education that supports Fire Safety Legislation enforcement and community fire safety initiatives which aim to promote fire safe behaviour. 

Response

In Powys, we attend on average approximately 2,000 incidents a year including property fires, wildfires, Road Traffic Collisions, floods, animal rescues and other emergencies. 

To deal with this demand our highly skilled Firefighters provide around the clock emergency cover, responding to incidents in one or more of our 23 front-line fire engines, equipped with the latest equipment and supported by a number of specialist vehicles. We monitor our performance continuously and are committed to improving efficiency and effectiveness wherever we can.​