A VILLAGE in the Brecon Beacons that serves as a mock battleground for soldiers has helped a team from the fire service to win an award at the 2017 Celebrating Success Awards.

The Fighting in Built Up and Urban Areas (FIBUA) team won the Award for Innovation at the annual awards run by the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS).

The mock village, which is meant to represent a settlement somewhere in eastern Europe, is regularly used by the FIBUA team for testing training exercises. Owned by the MoD, the facility is in huge demand from both the Army and, for the last 10 years, by the fire service.

Named Cilieni, it houses incomplete buildings such as derelict houses, farms and even a church where the Army can practise house to house fighting and fire fighters can carry out realistic training. Cilieni is also used by the FIBUA team for assessment of trainee firefighters and is a facility where Fire Cadets complete their B Tech qualifications.

Over the years the FIBUA initiative has saved MAWWFRS significant sums of money by maintained the firefighting competencies of more than 500 fire service personnel.

The seventh annual Celebrating Success Awards, which were hosted by BBC News presenter Sian Lloyd, were held last Thursday, October 26, at Brangwyn Hall in Swansea.

Winner of the Individual Achievement Award was Rhayader-based crew manager Rhys Thomas.

Rhys is an on-call firefighter who has risen throught the ranks. He is also the founder member and chairperson of the Rhayader and District Defib Group, which has provided six new defibrillators to the community.

A town councillor, Rhayader FC committee member, school governor and member of the town’s carnival committee, Rhys’ commitment to the community was recently recognised when he became one of the bearers during the Queens’s Baton Relay for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.