Fire authority's safety training firm folds owing £427,000

The training firm was set up with the aim of raising income for the fire service

A training company set up by a Welsh fire authority has folded, with debts of £427,000.

Rescue 365 was designed to generate income for the Mid and West Wales fire service by targeting businesses.

Retired firefighters did the work, as did serving staff on their days off.

The fire authority, which gave the firm a start-up loan of £200,000 in 2014, said despite some success in a competitive field, the firm's directors doubted its long-term viability.

Hopes of landing a significant contract with a large company in the region failed to materialise, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has learned, and debts began to build.

Last week, the fire authority's resource management committee approved a recommendation to dissolve Rescue 365. The final decision was taken at a fire authority meeting on Monday.

The decisions, both taken behind closed doors, were confirmed in response to questions from the LDRS.

In a statement, the authority said Rescue 365 had delivered training worth £850,000 to more than 100 organisations, but the business environment and commercial opportunities had changed significantly.

"Notwithstanding the services provided in what is a highly competitive and extremely challenging environment, the directors of Rescue 365 have decided the long-term sustainability and operation of the company was unviable," the statement said.

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Knowing the firm was facing "ongoing challenges", the fire authority said it had already made provision to cover the cost of writing off its debts, and insisted the loss would have no impact on the fire service budget.

Minutes from a fire authority meeting in 2014 said Rescue 365 was the first initiative of its kind in Wales, although six similar companies operated elsewhere in the UK.

Swansea councillor and ex-firefighter Gordon Walker, a member of the authority, said the demise of Rescue 365 was "very sad".

He added: "Firefighters used to do this training in-house at at no extra cost to the taxpayer. Even staff with light duties were doing this work."