Forge Mews fire crews delayed by traffic barrier - residents

People living in Forge Mews, in Bassaleg, have been prevented from parking their vehicles outside their own homes for months.

The original access point, via Old Bassaleg Bridge, has been fenced off for safety reasons, after inspectors judged the bridge was in danger of collapsing.

Only emergency services vehicles are currently allowed to access the street, via the A467, using an electronic code to unlock a barrier.

But when Alison Williams’ house went up in flames on Wednesday morning, the fire crews who arrived on the scene within minutes found that although the electronic code worked, the lock it was meant to open had seized up.

Fortunately the firefighters were able to get through using bolt cutters to destroy the lock – but even their delay of a minute or so could have had fatal consequences, residents say.

No people were seriously hurt in the fire, but Mrs Williams’ family’s two pet cats sadly died of their injuries.

The fire-damaged house in Forge Mews. (Image: Newsquest)

Meanwhile, an ambulance sent to the scene of the fire arrived on the wrong side of the closed bridge and had to take a detour in rush-hour traffic to get around to Forge Mews.

For residents like Lisa Grant, the chaotic scenes on Wednesday prove they have been right all along in demanding the council improve access to their street.

“I hope Newport City Council are totally ashamed of themselves and hang their heads in shame,” she told the Argus as she stood outside the burned-out home.

“[The occupants] could have died in this because it took the fire brigade that little bit longer to arrive.

“We’re really not interested in the same old rubbish we’ve had for the last 18 months.

“When are they going to open the bridge? And if not, when are they going to give us a new bridge?

“It’s bad enough the cats died – this could have been human life [lost in the fire].”

Forge Mews resident Tony Brooks. (Image: Newsquest)

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s gone on way too long, and it’s the same old rubbish story [from the council about the future of the bridge].

“They created this problem of the bridge not being stable – not us.”

Tony Brooks, who lives next door to the house which caught fire, said there had been other incident in which the emergency services had struggled to access Forge Mews.

“If that had been an ambulance this morning for someone who’d maybe had a heart attack, the chances are very high indeed the person wouldn’t have survived,” he said.

Newport City Council was contacted for comment.