Welsh firefighters’ bike challenge raises funds for Australian firefighters

FIREFIGHTERS from Llandeilo Fire Station took part in a 22-hour static bike challenge to raise money for Llandilo Rural Fire Brigade who have been tirelessly battling the devastating bush fires in Australia. Llandilo town in Australia was named after Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire and the Fire Stations have maintained their connection over the years.

Seeing the efforts and the devastation of the bush fires in Australia and the work and dedication from the Firefighters to ensure their communities are safe, crews from Llandeilo decided to raise funds by undertaking a 22 hour cycle on static bikes to represent the time it takes to fly to Australia.

On the 15th February 2020 at 3pm the challenge started! The firefighters were split into two teams of five, with each team taking it in turn to cycle for 30 minutes each throughout the 22 hours. This ensured that they were continually cycling and whilst still being able to provide operational cover. All this took place during Storm Dennis and during the challenge crews were called out to a total of eight incidents, one of which was a property flooding, during which crews rescued 6 adults and 2 dogs from a potentially critical situation.

Watch Manager, John Herman from Llandeilo Fire Station said:

“This entire experience has brought the two fire stations closer together, and after keeping in contact throughout this last few months, we look forward to continuing that connection for years to come!”

Over the two days, crews welcomed many visitors who came to show their support and donate money to the charity. To date the figure stands at £2,500 which is equivalent to almost $4900 AUD, and this figure is still rising with donations coming in from schools, town councils and public donations! Crews would like to give a special thanks to Llandeilo CP School and Ysgol Gynradd Ffaifach who raised collectively over £800 for the challenge.