Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s (MAWWFRS) Water Hydrants Team has recently completed its six-monthly health check training, helping to ensure the continued effectiveness and accessibility of fire hydrants across the Service area.
As part of the training, team members carried out maintenance work at Kidwelly Fire Station, including grass cutting, hedge trimming and weed removal using a range of battery-powered multi-tool equipment and leaf blowers.
This equipment plays a vital role in the Hydrant Team’s inspection programme, enabling inspectors to maintain clear access to hydrants that can often become obscured by vegetation and overgrowth. Keeping hydrants visible and accessible is essential to ensuring they can be quickly located, inspected and used when crews need them most.
Regular training and maintenance activities such as these help the team remain prepared to carry out inspections efficiently, supporting the Service’s ability to respond to emergencies and protect communities across Mid and West Wales.
What is a Fire Hydrant?
A fire hydrant is a piece of equipment that provides emergency access to mains water for firefighting by supplying or refilling the tank in a fire engine.
There are more than 32,000 dedicated fire hydrants across MAWWFRS’s area. They are owned, installed and maintained by two water companies.
Fire hydrants can be identified by a marker plate, usually attached to a wall, fence or post. They are square yellow signs with a large black ‘H’. The numbers above identify the size of the water main and the number(s) below show the distance to the hydrant.
