A large fire has caused damage to 140 cars in a car park located near Crawley, which is commonly used by tourists travelling through London Gatwick Airport (LGW). Many holidaymakers have been impacted by the incident upon returning from holidays.
Fire Near Crawley
At around 9 p.m. BST on Saturday August 22, a fire broke out at Caldyne Business Park near Crawley, damaging over 100 cars. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service subsequently sent crews to the site on Wallage Lane in Rowfant, arriving at around 10 p.m. BST on Saturday evening. The site, which is located in North Crawley, was home to a number of auto repair shops, and holidaymakers often use the nearby car park when travelling through London Gatwick Airport (LGW).
Though the car park is popular with holidaymakers travelling via LGW, a spokesperson for the airport emphasised that the site “is not endorsed or operated by London Gatwick”, and is not owned by the airport. The spokesperson went on to to highlight that the airport understands how concerning and distressing a fire incident is for passengers.
The owner of a site involved in the blaze, Sapphire Parking, commented:
“At the moment, it is a nightmare for everyone. We lost a lot of business – we have had to cancel about 600 bookings. I know that customers are calling and are distressed, but we can’t do much at the moment.”
Over 2,000 homes were also left without power on Saturday due to the blaze, as UK Power Networks said “engineers had to unexpectedly turn off the power to 2,190 customers” in an area east of Crawley in order to isolate an overhead cable to ensure safety after flames damaged high voltage equipment. The electricity was restored to all homes affected in the area by 9 a.m. on Sunday, the company said.
Serious Damage
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident on Saturday, and confirmed that, at the height of the blaze, there were a total of eight fire engines and water carriers at the scene. The crews remained at the scene as late as Monday morning to dampen the hotspots that endured after the fire was put out.
Sussex Police confirmed that a 67-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson, and has since been bailed pending further inquiries.
Though there was significant damage to vehicles at the site, with 140 of them destroyed, there were no casualties reported. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service also advised people whose vehicles were damaged to contact the parking operator directly for further information and guidance.
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