The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Liverpool car park blaze destroys 1,400 vehicles
Shelter set up for people left stranded
A huge fire has destroyed around 1,400 vehicles in a car park near Liverpool’s Echo Arena, leaving many people stranded in the city overnight.
Witnesses described abandoning their vehicles, grabbing possessions and running for their lives after the blaze broke out in an old Land Rover and rapidly spread.
Yesterday the fire appeared to have been extinguished, leaving the charred remains of cars on the seven levels of the multi-storey car park.
There were no reported injuries but a shelter had been set up to look after many people who were unable to get home or get alternative accommodation.
The fire service said crews rescued two dogs from one of the vehicles and they are thought to have been the only animals in the car park at the time.
The fire caused the cancellation of the Liverpool International Horse Show on New Year’s Eve, which was attended by Sue Wright and her family, including former England footballer Mark.
She told how she saw an old Land Rover on level three with its engine on fire and helped to lead some of the horses to safety.
Mrs Wright said: “The flames were just shooting out of the engine and coming past the tyres.
“It looked like a ball of fire on the front of the car and it was producing a lot of smoke.
“We just left everything in the car – handbags, telephone, cash – and just went.”
She was with her family, friends and children in an eight-seater minibus when one of their children spotted the fire and smoke.
They abandoned the minibus and got everyone to safety.
Mrs Wright called the emergency services and rushed to the stables but she could hear “bangs and popping” as she arrived, and the horses were “spooked”.
Mrs Wright told the grooms to bridle the horses and they managed to get them out through two exits.
Firefighters worked into the night trying to control the blaze, which began on Sunday afternoon.