The safety of our residents is our highest priority, which is why we regularly organise fire safety training exercises alongside South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
During a live training exercise at Hillview high rise in the Gaer area of Newport on Tuesday the 21st of April, which included a number of high rise drills and simulated conditions such as smoke and water, a cooking fire started in a kitchen a few floors from where the training exercise was taking place.
During the incident, our sprinkler systems activated and brought the fire under control immediately which is how our sprinkler systems are designed to respond in the result of a fire.
Simon Andrews from Newport City Homes, said, “We are very pleased in the success of our sprinkler system, which did exactly what it was designed to do - protect our residents if a fire breaks out in their home and minimise the devastating consequences fire can have.
“We can never be certain but our sprinklers may have saved lives this week. This incident has given our residents additional assurance our fire safety measures work effectively to keep them safe in their homes.
"As part of our ongoing maintenance and improvement programme, we are installing these potentially life-saving sprinklers in over 2,000 more of our homes across Newport within the next year."
Station Commander, Kevin Yates from the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “These training exercises are a brilliant way for our firefighters to practice realistic scenarios which will help to develop their firefighting skills during live incidents.
We were fortunate to be in attendance whilst the cooking fire began and we were able to apply the appropriate measures immediately.”