Daily Express

Multi-storey at risk of collapse as blaze destroys 1,400 cars

- By Andy Russell

A FEROCIOUS fire that destroyed 1,400 vehicles has left the Echo Arena car park in Liverpool at risk of collapse.

Fire crews battled for hours to contain the blaze after a Land Rover caught fire and the blaze spread through all seven levels of the 1,600-space multi-storey.

Speaking outside the charred building, chief fire officer Dan Stephens confirmed the building was vulnerable.

He said: “There has been localised collapse within the car park so the structure is unstable.”

Most of the vehicles belonged to visitors to the city’s Internatio­nal Horse Show at the arena, who were left stranded overnight.

The city council opened an emergency relief centre in a local gym to accommodat­e those without transport and also residents of a nearby block of flats which had to be evacuated due to danger from smoke.

Ferocious

Sue Wright, wife of former England and Liverpool soccer star Mark Wright, emerged as one of the heroes of the incident.

The car park’s lowest floor was being used as stables and as soon as she saw an old Land Rover on level three with its engine on fire she began helping the horses to safety.

She said: “The flames were just shooting out of the engine. It looked like a ball of fire on the front of the car.”

She was with her family, friends and children in an eight-seater minibus trying to leave the car park on Sunday at around 4.30pm.

The party abandoned the minibus and the adults led the children to safety on foot while Mrs Wright alerted the emergency services and went to help evacuate the horses.

“We just left everything in the car – handbags, telephone, cash – and just went. It was all insignific­ant as long as everyone was OK and we could get the horses out. It was ferocious and spreading.”

She said she rushed to the stables and could hear “bangs and popping” as she arrived.

“The water was coming down to ground level as the firefighte­rs were tackling the fire and it was spooking the horses,” she said.

“Everybody was helping each other out. It was all hands on deck in the stables.”

The fire service, which worked into the night trying to control the blaze, said crews rescued two dogs from a vehicle. Flames spread quickly among the hundreds of cars which had been driven to the four-day event.

The show’s final night on Sunday was cancelled.

Mr Stephens said a sprinkler system would have limited the damage.

“Had the car park had sprinklers that would certainly have acted to suppress the fire,” he said. “It may well even have extinguish­ed the fire.

“It would certainly have given us a far better chance to get sufficient water on the fire to put it out.”

 ?? Pictures: EPA/SOLARPIX ?? The car park fire, inset, gutted vehicles and destroyed its concrete floors, revealing their steel reinforcem­ent
Pictures: EPA/SOLARPIX The car park fire, inset, gutted vehicles and destroyed its concrete floors, revealing their steel reinforcem­ent
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 ??  ?? Sue Wright, with her husband Mark, former England and Liverpool footballer, took this picture of the initial car fire, above, after abandoning her vehicle as she tried to leave the car park
Sue Wright, with her husband Mark, former England and Liverpool footballer, took this picture of the initial car fire, above, after abandoning her vehicle as she tried to leave the car park
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