Major fire exercise at Castle

Firefighters from across North Powys and the Shropshire border tackled a major incident at Powis Castle on Sunday – but it was just an exercise.

The Powys Command of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service conducted Exercise Defender in conjunction with the National Trust at the Castle.

Fire appliances from Welshpool, Montgomery, Llanfair Caereinion, Llanfyllin, Newtown, Craven Arms and Aberystwyth were utilised for the exercise in a large-scale effort to make sure it would be fully prepared to tackle any potential blaze at the historic venue.
The purpose of the event was to test both the Fire Service and Castle’s emergency plans in the event of a fire.

Head of North Powys Command, Group Manager Steve Rowlands said, “We deployed a number of assets to the exercise, this is a testament to the importance Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the local community place on protecting the castle and its contents.

“The exercise was a success as it is important for firefighters to refresh firefighting skills specific to these types of buildings.” 

The exercise involved a ladder from Aberystwyth with a 100-foot reach, so all the high turrets and towers could be reached from the courtyard to make sure the aerial appliance could get through the castle’s ancient arches.

Many of the National Trust volunteers and staff went along to help.