Badly parked cars block 999 call firemen

ACTION is to be taken to prevent bad parking blocking fire appliances getting to emergency calls in Llanelli.

Firemen were forced to abandon their appliance and run down a blocked Bryn Road in their breathing apparatus to attend a 999 call.

There were been two emergency calls to Bryn Road Llanelli last year (2014) with the fire engine unable to get to the threatened houses because of the badly parked cars.

The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service are calling for enforceable double yellow line parking restrictions to prevent delays in any future incidents with bad double banked parking causing delays and poytentially fatalities.

The fire services station response manager, Justin Lewis, has advised the Carmarthenshire council engineering and transport teams of the two incidents on Bryn Road in 2014 where a fire appliance was blocked from continuing along the street because of double parking on the western end of the street.

During one of the incidents, fire officers had no choice other to deploy from the blocked appliance wearing breathing apparatus and run to the building some distance along the street.

County executive board member for engineering and transport service Cllr Colin Evans said: “If people cannot park responsibly we have to take measures that could potentially save a life in an emergency situation.”

It is against fire service protocol to dispatch firemen into a property unless the fire appliance is outside the property.

It is the on-street bad parking on the western end of Bryn Road – having exited Queen Victoria Road – with vehicles being left angled into the street partially blocking passage, that is presenting access difficulties for fire service

A meeting has been at Llanelli Fire Station to discuss options to manage parking on this section of Bryn Road so as to ensure unhindered passage for fire and rescue appliance vehicles.

The meeting was attended by local Cllrs Louvain Roberts and Winston Lemon, Mr. Justin Lewis; Fire station response manager Justin Lewis, and two colleague fire officers.

Double yellow lines were seen as the solution to prevent parking on both sides of this section of Bryn Road.