Betws y Coed
Betws y Coed
Conwy
LL24 0BS
Betws Y Coed is a Retained Duty System (RDS) station.
RDS firefighters are skilled individuals who do ordinary jobs and offer evening, daytime and/or weekend cover.
Geographical area covered:
A5 From Betws to the far end of Llyn Ogwen, A5 to Pentrefoelas, A4086 to Pen-y-Pass, A470 To Pont-y-Pant, A470 to Hafod and the B4407 to Ysbyty Ifan.
Sites Of Risk:
Hotels, local school, caravan parks, outdoor pursuit centres and Tŷ Mawr Wybernant (The birthplace of William Morgan, who translated the bible to Welsh).
Station History:
The first station was built in 1953 and was located at theRoyal OakStables(now the tourist information centre), with two coach houses around the size of a domestic garage to house the appliance and equipment with a room to the side which acted as the watchroom and muster bay.
There were nine in the initial crew, of which two still work at the station. The appliance was a 1942 hose reel tender with a Berisford trailer pump.
This equipment was replaced in around 1970 with two long wheel base landrovers as radio communications became available (one of 1960 vintage and the other 1965). By the 1970s about 12 people worked at the station. In 1974, the Service changed from Caernarfonshire Fire Brigade to Gwynedd Fire Service.
In October 1975, the present fire station was being converted from what was Elim Chapel. The Officer in Charge was E.C.J. Mills, a school teacher and an ex wartime pilot and the majority of the initial crew were ex wartime servicemen. The method of mobilistation at the time was VFA. and siren (as in the air raid). This changed in February 1976 with the move to the present station when we were equipped with radio pagers. With this came our first proper appliance.
In 1978 the Officer in Charge was Gordon Williams and in 1985 the first diesel appliance arrived in the shape of a Ford D1114 1978 model and in 1988 a brand new long wheelbase V8 petrol Landrover pump.