Fire service and farmers save river from pollution

Environment Agency Wales has hailed the action of North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and two north Wales farmers to avoid a major pollution incident following a fire earlier this week.

As fire crews tackled a toxic blaze on a farm in the Conwy Valley, contaminated water used to douse the fire could have entered a feeder stream for the Afon Dulas which feeds the Conwy.

A combination of new environmental equipment provided by the Agency and responsible action from the farmer prevented this contaminated water from polluting the rivers.

The fire crew used its Environmental Protection Unit which keeps polluted water used to fight the blaze contained within bunds.

Firefighters also used drain bungs to prevent the water from entering the drains.

Farmers, Gareth and Martin Hughes of Blaen Ddol farm, Talybont, then worked with Environment Agency Wales officers on site to arrange a local contractor, Dafydd Hughes from Henryd, to spread this water on a nearby field.

Sian Williams from Environment Agency Wales, said:

"The fire incinerated many tonnes of fertiliser, tyres and two vehicles. All of these contain pollutants which could have entered the Conwy in the water which fire fighters used to tackle the blaze.

"This really is a great example of how agencies can work together to prevent a secondary incident happening when tackling fires of this type. We can be quite sure that this would have been a serious environmental incident if the fire crew had not used this equipment

"It’s obviously a traumatic time for the farmers – but they took responsible action by calling in a contractor when the run-off water was threatening to over-top the bunds which had been placed around the area

"We will now work with them to make sure that the debris from the fire is disposed of without damaging the environment."