Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation

Over the years that npower has been operating the Dolgarrog Hydroelectric plant, we have built up a good relationship with local charity Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation.

npower was pleased to be able to make a substantial contribution towards the Rescue Organisation’s landrover appeal. Roger Jones Transport Officer Rescue Organisation said, “Landrovers are essential tools for our work in the Snowdonia Mountains but it is essential that the vehicles are kept fully up to date. Operating and maintaining the Landrover Ambulance is an expensive business and relies on donations, as does the day-to-day operation of the rescue team. This is why a special appeal has been launched to fund the replacement ambulance.”

At the time of the donation, the current Land Rover was ten years old and in order to offer the high standard of service expected by the police and the general public, all the team’s equipment has to be up to date and reliable. “At night, in bad weather, on the mountains with a casualty in our care, we cannot afford equipment failures. It could mean life or death.”

Lights in the dark

npower also contributed towards five powerful hand held searchlights for the Rescue Organisation. These lightweight, rechargeable torches can provide a powerful beam to assist the Rescue Team to locate stranded or injured persons on the mountains of Snowdonia. The same lights can then be used to light the casualty site whilst First Aid is carried out.

Speaking from the Rescue Organisation, Chris Lloyd said, “As the team relies solely on voluntary contributions to maintain its essential work in the mountains of North Wales this contribution is most welcome”

Training

The Rescue Organisation has made use of the Dolgarrog Power Station off road driver training area to develop their off road driving skills. This allows team members to practice without having to travel into the hills, ensuring that they are more likely to be available to respond swiftly to a real incident should one occur during the training period.

Exercises

Dolgarrog Power Station and the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation have also co-operated for a number of years to help develop and practice emergency plans in the Carneddau mountains. Some 30 square miles of the Dolgarrog catchment area lies with in the Rescue Organisation’s operational area and they are called out should an emergency arise for anyone using this spectacular part of the Snowdonia National Park for work or recreation.

Dolgarrog offers a facility to all of the emergency services to assist with transport in the catchment areas. Ambulances and Fire Engines can not travel very far into the hills but Dolgarrog’s trained staff and off road vehicles can be vital of assistance.

Dolgarrog and the Rescue Organisation have worked with the other emergency services on a number of emergency exercises seeking to practice and develop responses to possible emergencies in the area. For example, in April 2004, there was a joint multi agency exercise involving personnel from npower, the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation, the North Wales Police, the RAF and the Welsh Ambulance Service. The exercise formed part of the routine training for the parties involved and helped to develop close co-operation between all the agencies and npower when dealing with incidents that could occur in the Dolgarrog Power Station Catchment area.

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