Residents watch out for flames (From Penarth Times)

Residents watch out for flames

A GROUP of Sully residents have prepared themselves if firefighters decide to strike in the future with a unique plan of their own.

Locals at Highbridge Close would use the neighbourhood watch scheme to deal with any emergencies.

Olga Jones, who is worried that the 'green goddesses' will not be able to cope if there is a fire, said: "We had the same idea in the last strike in the seventies. What we have done is make a list of all the people with ladders, hoses and fire extinguishers.

"And all the neighbours have contact numbers and other useful information."

She added that the last time a resident had a fire in the kitchen it was successfully controlled with help from the watch.

There are 16 households who will benefit from the scheme and all the homeowners have been given a list of useful life saving information.

Another resident, Fred Herbert, said: "It was Olga's idea and it is a very good one. It has been my experience that neighbours come through in times of adversity.

"We have not got a lot of fire fighting equipment but we have pooled our resources to maximise them."

He added that the close is very friendly and people are always willing to help.

On a normal day, if there is no strike, there is a possibility of 52 fire engines available around the area.

In the event of a strike, emergency services will prioritise calls, and will only go to life threatening situations.

All chemical plants have their own fire teams but will have no extra help because the army have no capability to deal with chemicals.

And the expected time for the emergency services to get to a blaze is more than double. Operatives of the 'green goddesses' are instructed not to go into blazing buildings.

This means that any contingency plans made by neighbours could be life saving.