30 coaches in Merthyr Tydfil depot catch fire in huge blaze - 28 December 2014

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

26 coaches in Merthyr depot catch fire in huge blaze


The burnt out shells of the coaches at Pant Industrial Estate in Merthyr Tydfil

A huge blaze has swept through a depot in Merthyr Tydfil, causing 26 coaches to catch fire.

More than 40 firefighters tackled it at First Call Coaches at Pant Industrial Estate on Sunday.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it arrived at the scene shortly after 01:00 GMT to find the fire had also spread into the main workshop.

"Prompt action prevented a fire from spreading to surrounding businesses," a spokesman said.

South Wales Police and the fire service are both investigating.


Firefighters assess the damage after the huge blaze at First Call Coaches in Merthyr Tydfil

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

30 coaches in Merthyr depot destroyed in huge blaze

A huge blaze has swept through a depot in Merthyr Tydfil, destroying 30 coaches, five minibuses and a car.

The inferno triggered a series of explosions at First Call Coaches at Pant Industrial Estate on Sunday.

More than 40 firefighters tackled the blaze which started shortly after 01:00 GMT.

South Wales Police and South Wales Fire and Rescue are investigating, with a spokesman calling it "a scene of devastation".

By the time fire crews arrived, the blaze had spread to the main workshop.

"It was a scene of devastation. Various vehicles had minor explosions," a fire service spokesman said.

"Prompt action prevented a fire from spreading to surrounding businesses."

A police spokesman said: "The neighbouring A465 was closed to traffic due to smoke and debris on the road and diversions were put in place."


The burnt out shells of the coaches at Pant Industrial Estate in Merthyr Tydfil


Firefighters at the scene of the huge blaze


Firefighters assess the damage after the huge blaze at First Call Coaches in Merthyr Tydfil


The fire also spread into the main workshop


Some of the burnt-out coaches


Firefighters at the scene of the burnt-out coaches


Fire damage to the main workshop with some of the destroyed coaches

[anthony215]

This story is doing the rounds on the local bus forums in wales as well as on facebook. Never a nice thing to happen especially when the owners have put a lot of hard work building up the business.

One good thing is that the local operators are  offering  a helping hand to 1st Call.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed, it's good to see other bus operators pulling together to help one of their own: the same happened when Western Greyhound suffered depot fires in Cornwall, discussed previously on this forum.

However, the aspect which I find slightly alarming is to see again just how combustible (if you'll pardon the pun) buses and coaches can be. For example, see also the topic on a bus fire at Caernarfon and a school coach fire in Somerset. 

[anthony215]

Since I work for First as a bus driver now in South Wales after my spell at Worcester I have seen a video showing one of our buses showing it go up in flames to the point that it was a burnt out wreck and it was frightening to see how fast the fire spread.

One problem with a lot of depots is that the fires can spread very quickly particulary with vehicles parked so close together a good example being the fire at First's Westbourne park depot in London as well as the recent example with Western Greyhound.

At least one good thing which comes out of this is the close working relationships between the various operators in the industry who all pull together to help one of their own with vehicles sometimes coming from operators many miles from the operator concerned.

[LiskeardRich]

The report keeps mentioning 30 buses, yet the operator only has a licence for 15 at this site.
It has been suggested on another forum that another unnamed operator had some vehicles on this site as well

[anthony215]

I believe there is another operator who has been using some of the spare space available to park some vehicles as their site is not large enough to park all their vehicles on. Also 1st Call did have a couple of withdrawn vehicles parked at the back of their yard which were being stripped for spare parts before being scrapped.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Merthyr Tydfil bus depot blaze being treated as arson

A huge fire at a bus depot which destroyed 30 coaches, five minibuses and a car is being treated as arson.

The blaze needed 57 firefighters to bring it under control after it broke out in the early hours of 28 December at First Call Coaches in Pant Industrial Estate, Merthyr Tydfil.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it was treating the blaze as a "deliberate fire".

Investigators studied CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) footage to help decide the cause.

The enormous blaze triggered a series of explosions.

The coaches were parked very close together, partly as a security measure to prevent anyone trying to steal fuel or batteries and parts.

However, firefighters said that had helped the fire spread quickly.

Describing the scene, Dewi Jones from South Wales Fire Service told BBC Wales: "There's total devastation.

"Prompt action prevented a fire from spreading to surrounding businesses."

[TheLastMinute]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Merthyr Tydfil bus depot blaze being treated as arson

Having had dealing with this company, I can't say I'm surprised.

TLM