Fire fighters to flush away flames with wastewater

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, in partnership with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales, is trialling the use of ultra-violet radiation-treated, wastewater treatment effluent at fire incidents as an alternative to using drinking or other water sources.

Fire and Rescue Services use a large amount of water while responding to the variety of incidents which can occasionally cause issues for communities, such as low water pressure and dirty water, depending on the location.

The new initiative, devised and led by the service’s corporate risk assurance manager, Seamus Doyle, will, the fire service said, reduce the impact on communities, and align with the service’s environmental objectives. And the fire service said it will enable crews to respond more efficiently to incidents in areas where water supply is limited. It could remove the need to transfer water from other locations which can prolong an incident and delay response times.

A spokesperson for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said: “We are fully supportive of this initiative. By substituting this volume of water which otherwise would have been taken from the potable water supply it will help in the preservation of our supplies for customers.”