SENIOR fire officers have met with councillors in Porthmadog to discuss concerns about a lack of retained firefighters in the town.

During the summer, Cllr Jason Humphreys, who represents Porthmadog East on Gwynedd Council, claimed there were now only six retained firefighters based in the town, and that daytime incidents would have to be dealt with by fire crews from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Harlech.

After these concerns were raised, senior officers from the fire service met with Cllr Humphreys along with Cllr Alwyn Gruffydd and Cllr Selwyn Griffith, who represent Tremadog and Porthmadog West, and Cllr Eirwyn Williams of Criccieth and Cllr Gareth Thomas from Penrhyndeudraeth.

They are now planning to work together on a recruitment drive.

Assistant chief fire officer Richard Fairhead, said: “We were glad to meet with local councillors and had a very positive meeting. We are looking forward to working with them to attract applications for potential firefighters for Porthmadog Fire Station.

“We will be working together to leaflet the local area, and liaising with local employers to talk about the benefits of releasing staff to become RDS (Retained Duty System) Firefighters.

"We are welcoming applications from those living or working no more than eight to 10 minutes away from the Porthmadog fire station, including the villages and areas of Criccieth and Penrhyndeudraeth.”

Cllr Humphreys said he is encouraged by the number of people who attended a recent open day.

Read the full story in this week’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News, in shops now