Thank you for the Days

This is Ours - Never let them steal it from us

Article out today in the South Wales Argus, confirming the news that the campaigners to Save Blaina Fire Station from closure have been succesful in their battle and so I guess there is no longer any need for this website.

Well the "thank yous" have all been done, so what else can I tell you?

You know who the key players were for the "good guys" and this site certainly made you aware of who the "bad guys" were.

So the battle is over, and it is time for me personally, to go rejoin my comrades in their campaigns against the evil ATOS, the vile Bedroom Tax and the filthy, greedy power companies that have been murdering our elderly by freezing them to death.

I shall endeavour to make their lives as miserable as they have made the lives of millions of British People.

Fire Cover Review Update Stage 2: Blaenau Gwent & Torfaen

This is my personal response to the Fire Service Statement

The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service have published the following statement on their website, which by the look of their Alexa Rankings means that very few people will actually read it, and so I guess we will help them out by spreading their message on our site.

Statement by Councillor Lisa Winnett

Councillor Lisa Winnett - without her leadership we would have lost

Labour Councillor Lisa Winnett, the De facto leader of the successful campaign to save Blaina Fire Station from closure in the immediate future, released the following statement late on Monday night.

I have highlighted sentences I consider to be of high importance, but be of no doubt, without Lisa, we would not have won this battle.

Big Win for Blaina at Home

Just some of the A-Team

Despite being up against a side that had massive amounts of money to spend and supported by dozens of highly paid sales players, plucky Blaina Fire and Rescue Service fought off the threat of closure to our fire station that was made by the bully boys of the South Wales Fire Service, captained by Chief Fire Officer, Huw Jakeway.

News just in, is that the meeting of the Fire Authority scheduled for December 16th, where the 24 members and their leader Tudor Davies would have had to accept the flawed proposal put forward by the Fire Service and close down Blaenau Gwent's most reliable Fire Station, or rightly reject it and consign it to the nearest bin, has been cancelled, or rather put back until March of 2014.

So you want to be a Firefighter?

This is why Blaina is available 100% of the time

So you want to be a Firefighter?

Well the chances of you finding employment as a "Full Time" firefighter are extremely remote, you know how the establishment likes to do things on the cheap, so your next alternative is to be a Retained Duty System Fire Fighter.

You will receive the same kind of professional training, you will use the same equipment and you will of course be prepared to risk your life, but of course not for the same kind of remuneration as your full time colleagues (it is not their fault, it is the system).

Well the good news, is that the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are currently looking for RDS Firefighters in the following areas of South Wales:

Is Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway a liar or just stupid?

If you think this is over Huw, you are badly mistaken.  This is just the beginning.

Do not think because Huw Jakeway is the Chief Fire Officer for South Wales, that he possesses any great degree of intelligence.  In fact having been up close to him on a couple of occasions now, I noticed that his eyes seem to lack that vital "spark" that shows that there is intelligence within.

I have worked in too many companies not to have worked with men like Huw, men who have been promoted way above their ability because of croniesm or hidden agendas and I suspect that Huw is just one such man.

Alun Davies AM's response to the Fire Service's Fire Cover Review

Alun Davies AM with Councillor Winnett, Mrs Griffin and some of Blaina Fire Crew

The following is the response made by our Welsh Assembly Member, Alun Davies to the Fire Cover Review, which includes the proposal to close Blaina fire station.  I have taken the liberty of emboldening several points that I think most important .....

I would like to object to the proposal to close Blaina Fire Station. This is a station that functions very well and provides an excellent service to the community. The station has an excellent record in terms of the availability of the station and its response times and regularly is able to deliver a response to incidents that exceeds that predicted or expected by the Service. In responding to the FCR I have taken some time to review the fire cover in Blaenau Gwent and have been surprised to find that some of our stations are not regularly available to provide cover.

Thank you

Stephen Griffin gave his life for us - Margaret now fights for him and us

Mrs Margaret Griffin, the widow of one of our two brave firefighters who died trying to save a child in the tragedy at Zephaniah Way in 1996 has asked me if I could thank various people for the exceptional efforts they have made in the campaign to save Blaina Fire Station from closure, and I am proud that she has asked me to do this small task on her behalf.

I am sure we all understand that this must be a very difficult time for Mrs Griffin, who has had memory wounds that will never really heal, ripped open again by a seemingly insensitive Fire Service.

I am honoured to call her my friend and salute her personal courage.

Was this the Last Parade for Blaina Fire Station Crew?

Was this their Last Parade?  Not if we have our way.

The image above, could well be the last one taken of the crew of Blaina Fire Station, after what may  have been the last Remembrance Sunday Parade that they attend as a working fire crew.

In December, the Fire Authority will have to decide on whether the fire crew will be marching again with pride next year, or instead be among the ranks of the unemployed, because of the proposal to close down Blaenau Gwent's most productive fire station, based on inaccurate information submitted to them by Huw Jakeway of the Fire Service.

Pontnewynydd House Fire - Homes destroyed

Under Control

Last night it took six fire appliances from New Inn, Abersychan, Blaenavon, Cwmbran, Usk and Abercarn to bring under control and then extinguish a blaze at Machine Meadow, which is between Pontnewynydd and Abersychan.

The fire, which was reported at 7.54pm last night was well under way by the time the first fire appliance arrived, with two terraced properties already engulfed in flames.

It took ten men with breathing apparatus and four water jets to prevent the blaze from spreading to the rest of the homes in the terraced street, before finally being brought under control at around 9.30pm.

Councillor Lisa Winnett responds to South Wales Fire Service

Councillors Bob Pagett and Lisa Winnett - Fighting for Blaina and Nantyglo

Councillor Lisa Winnett is reporting that the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service's Legal Service Officer has written to her, concerning the reports that she has produced as rebutals of the Fire Service's badly flawed and inaccurate proposal to close Blaina Fire Station.

Below you will be able to see just what Lisa has been up against in our fight to save Blaina Fire Station and just how far the Fire Service is prepared to go, to get their own way, whilst attempting to intimidate people who are naturally opposed to a plan that threatens the property and lives of people they care about. 

Lisa's responses to the points raised in the Fire Service letter make excellent reading.  Well done Councillor Lisa Winnett.