Aircraft pushed to safety as fire breaks out in hangar
A FLYING instructor has saved around £1 million worth of small planes from a hangar fire at Bodmin Airfield in Cornwall, writes Tianna Corbin.
The instructor single-handedly pushed eight aircraft to safety outside after calling the emergency services.
Andy Wilkins had been staying in a caravan on site when he heard a loud bang.
Despite flames and smoke spreading through one of the hangars, Andy’s next priority after dialling 999 was to move planes outside to safety.
The smoke had become ‘pretty intense’ by the time Cornwall Fire Service arrived, which is when he was advised to stop for his own safety, BBC News has reported.
Andy explained how important it was to take prompt action for the sake of Cornwall Flying Club, saying: “I just got them out. I’m a bit stiff this morning.”
By moving the planes out of the next-door hangar, Mr Wilkins created a firebreak.
Darren Fern, chairman of Bodmin Flying Club, said that Andy had managed to save valuable aircraft. Darren commended the fire service for doing a ‘brilliant job’ and added that Andy’s actions in emptying the hangar next door saved all the other planes.
He said: “The fire brigade did a brilliant job of containing it, but by emptying the hangar that was next door to it, it gave us a firebreak that saved all of the others, so to do that all, virtually on his own, was an amazing job.”
The fire was first reported to emergency services last Friday at 7.30pm. Two pumping appliances from Bodmin and Wadebridge, supported by a water carrier from Wadebridge and a flexi-duty officer, were initially mobilised to reports of a fire inside the aircraft hanger.
After arriving at the scene, smoke was found to be coming from the building and a further appliance was requested from Bodmin.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
confirmed that, in total, there were five pumping appliances, two water carriers, one incident command unit, one operational support vehicle, one light 4x4 vehicle and two flexi-duty officers on the scene. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.