11 December 2023 , 10:17
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A UK airport is scrambling to contact holidaymakers to tell them their cars have been destroyed or damaged after a fire ripped through one of its car parks.
Firefighters descended on Bristol Airport after receiving reports about a blaze which took place in the Silver Zone Car Park on Sunday. Together, Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Bristol Airport's own fire crew joined forces to tackle the fire which set alight 11 cars. It has been reported that four or five vehicles were "completely destroyed" by the flames, which caused plumes of thick black smoke in the sky. The airport closed off its runway for a short period of time in response to the incident.
The blaze erupted in the Silver Zone car park (X/Twitter)A spokesperson for Avon Fire and Rescue Service confirmed two appliances were dispatched from Bedminster, with 11 cars on fire when they arrived. The damage sustained by the vehicles in the Silver Zone Car Park ranges between 20 and 100 per cent, but not every vehicle owner has been contacted yet. Bristol Airport said yesterday that it would be contacting the owners of the affected vehicles "as soon as possible", but not everyone has been informed as of Monday morning.
They further said that the runway was closed "for a short time as a safety precaution", but has now reopened. "A parked car caught fire in our Silver Zone car park, which is an open-air car park to the south of our runway," they said in an initial statement. "The fire spread to a small number of vehicles. There were no injuries, and the fire was quickly put out by the emergency services. We closed our runway for a short time as a safety precaution – the Airport is now fully open."
More than 10 cars were on fire when emergency services arrived to Bristol Airport (Twitter/X)A spokesperson for the airport told BristolLive today: "We’ve already been in contact with most of the owners of the damaged cars, including all of those who were returning yesterday and today. We’ll be contacting the small remaining number as a priority this morning." A question mark surrounds the exact cause of yesterday's fire, with Avon Fire and Rescue Service stating on Sunday afternoon that "accidental ignition" was to blame. When asked what type of vehicle was responsible for the fire, Bristol Airport said the cause is "not known at this stage".
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A spokesperson for Avon Fire and Rescue Service told The Mirror: "On Sunday 10 December at 10:01am crews from Bedminster were called to reports of a car fire at Bristol Airport car park. Upon arrival, crews located a fire to three cars. Crews used two pressure hose reels, one 45mm jet, a thermal imaging camera and some foam to extinguish the fire. 11 cars in total were affected by the fire. The cause is thought to be accidental."