Luton Airport car park fire

[BTB 500]

This isn't so good:

All flights at Luton Airport have been suspended until the afternoon after a huge fire ripped through a terminal car park.

Flights have been halted until 15:00 BST after the fire at the multi-storey caused the building to suffer a "significant structural collapse".

About 1,500 vehicles may have been in the car park and subsequently damaged, the fire service said.

Luton Airport fire: Flights resume after blaze rips through car park

Commercial flights restart after a huge fire ripped through a multi-storey car park.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[whitenemesis]

"Andy Hopkinson, Bedfordshire's chief fire officer, said the service had "no intelligence than to suggest it was anything other than an accidental fire".

He said it was thought the fire started with a diesel car, and then spread through the car park."

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Initial reporting suggests that this was caused by a fire in a diesel Range Rover

But… was this escalated by EV’s catching fire in close proximity, which are slow to extinguish?

Isn’t this an example of issue that we’ve all been discussing - for factories, show rooms, delivery ships, car parks, and domestic garages?

 

[ALFAitalia]

Just knew that EVs would be bought into this thread....I'm not saying its not true.....but as far as I'm aware there is as yet no evidence to suggest this.

1000 cars damaged apparently!!


I cant imagine that the RR drivers insurance companies will be happy when the 999 other car owners put their claims in!!!

 

[Darrell]

I cant imagine that the RR drivers insurance companies will be happy when the 999 other car owners put their claims in!!!

Is this what will happen??

 

[ioweddie]

another reason not to buy ev's

 

[Darrell]

another reason not to buy ev's

I’d have thought in a big fire like that it won’t make much difference anyway.

 

[BTB 500]

I suspect parked EVs would be harder to set alight than petrol fuelled vehicles in a scenario like this? Probably not helped by the fact that the car park didn't have sprinklers.

 

[Darrell]

We were in that very car park on Sunday.

 

[markjay]

another reason not to buy ev's Diesel cars

FTFY

 

[ALFAitalia]

another reason not to buy ev's

I'm not sure.....but you can bet the car park had disclaimer signs just like about every other car park. If my car was in there and its proven that the RR started the fire why should I claim from my insurance and blow my NCD when his car is to blame.

 

[ShireMan]

This isn't so good:

View attachment 148007

Luton Airport fire: Flights resume after blaze rips through car park

Commercial flights restart after a huge fire ripped through a multi-storey car park.

www.bbc.co.uk

OMG, feel for those owners!

Feel fortunate as I’m booked into CP2 for this coming Sunday, just waiting for email advising alternate parking now

 

[markjay]

I'm not sure.....but you can bet the car park had disclaimer signs just like about every other car park. If my car was in there and its proven that the RR started the fire why should I claim from my insurance and blow my NCD when his car is to blame.

Only if you can get a copy of the fire service report naming the car.........

 

[Dryce]

I suspect parked EVs would be harder to set alight than petrol fuelled vehicles in a scenario like this? Probably not helped by the fact that the car park didn't have sprinklers.

Will be interesting to see what the final assessment is.

A local car dealer's open air yard had a RR catch fire some years back. The cars were densely packed and it did spread. They dragged cars away from the group that were on fire.

In this case the cars may not have been as densely packed - but by the time it caught maybe no options to drag away cars - and while the carpark was open it had a roof which may have encouraged the spread sideways.

It' not the first fire either - Liverpool Echo Arena is probably poignanty similar and again fortunately involved only loss of vehicles and not lives.

Quick search provided this link: Fire risks in multi-storey car parks - Highlight Parking

And: https://www.bafsa.org.uk/wp-content...er/2018/12/Merseyside-FRS-Car-Park-Report.pdf

which has a paragraph referring to fuel fires:

CCTV footage shows that the fire started in a vehicle on level 3. Attending fire crews reported rapid lateral fire spread, running fuel fires, vertical fire spread from level of origin and a “waterfall” of fire from the ceiling of level 3. It was initially thought that fire spread was via the central ramps, but upon further investigation it is considered that the drainage system was the likely cause of vertical fire spread.

 

[BTB 500]

Feel fortunate as I’m booked into CP2 for this coming Sunday, just waiting for email advising alternate parking now

Sounds like that car park has had it - just saw a report saying all 4 levels had collapsed on top of each other at one end ... they're going to have to build a new ramp at the other end to get the undamaged vehicles out. Not going to be easy to find 1,900 parking places.

 

[clk320x]

It was a RR…

Blimey I can’t believe anyone would still drive an ICE car with how dangerous they are….

(That’s a joke btw - do you see how silly the anti-EV brigade sound now?)

 

[Connoisseur]

smelly old Diesel bursts into flames and within seconds EV gets mentioned as at fault. Priceless….

 

[clk320x]

another reason not to buy ev's

Why? because they statistically catch fire less than ICE cars?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

OMG, feel for those owners!

Feel fortunate as I’m booked into CP2 for this coming Sunday, just waiting for email advising alternate parking now

An optimist !

I don’t know the layout or numbers, but how easy is it to reopen the airport if it has lost a significant part of its parking?

 

[clk320x]

smelly old Diesel bursts into flames and within seconds EV gets mentioned as at fault. Priceless….