Car park blaze destroys 24 vehicles
A huge fire in a car park at Stansted Airport has highlighted that it is possible, and often more convenient, to get the bus or use the Stansted Express.
A fire in a car park at Stansted Airport destroyed 24 vehicles
Firefighters were called to the car park at Zone C where an electrical fault in a vehicle caused the fierce blaze.
In total, 24 cars were destroyed, causing £250,000 of damage as gusts of up to 50mph fanned the flames.
The airport’s own fire service, along with other fire service crews, spent more than an hour bringing the flames under control.
Holidaymakers returning to Stansted will be in for a shock to find their cars destroyed.
And the nightmare will not end there as authorities investigating the blaze said it is difficult to find out which was the faulty car that started the fire, making car insurance claims more difficult.
A spokesman for Stansted Airport admitted: “It will be an unpleasant surprise for the owners returning to find their cars burnt-out. But we are arranging free taxis to take them home or a 40% discount with a car rental firm here at the airport.
“A police and fire service investigation is under way and that zone is closed off to new arrivals.
“All the car parks are monitored by CCTV round the clock and, although the fire was picked up quickly, the very high winds caused it to spread extremely rapidly.”
Stansted has the biggest open-air car park of any European airport with a capacity of 26,500 vehicles.
Copyright Press Association 2010
