Up to 1,600 vehicles destroyed in car park fire

A 1,000C inferno that incinerated up to 1,600 vehicles in a Liverpool car park could have been stopped if sprinklers had been fitted in the building.

Dan Stephens, of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS), said such a system would have given crews a “much better” chance of stopping the fire.

The blaze went on to engulf seven floors of the multi-storey car park at the Echo Arena on Liverpool’s waterfront on New Year’s Eve after a Land Rover burst into flames.

Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool, said the council would take advice on any “lessons to be learned” over the fire at the local authority-owned building, which was built in 2008.

Motorists fled along with 4,000 people who were evacuated as the final event of the Liverpool International Horse Show was called off at the Echo Arena.

Residents living in apartments nearby and tourists staying in hotels were also forced to leave. Twelve fire engines including vehicles with aerial ladders were scrambled to the scene about 4:40pm on Sunday.

Former Liverpool and England international footballer Mark Wright and his wife, Sue, who were visiting the horse show, were forced to abandon their vehicle and fled along with six children who were with them.

Mrs Wright helped make sure 80 horses being stabled on the ground floor of the car park were led to safety.