Fire at Luton airport

[TeenagersAngst]

Is anyone due to travel from Luton in the next day or so? Just saw news of the fire which looks awful. Heard nothing yet from Ryanair but not sure how responsive they are in this sort of situation...

My first thought was "I wonder if it was an electric car - I've heard those are a nightmare to put out if they catch fire". It does, however, look like it was a Range Rover on a lower level. Looks like it spread very quickly and is difficult for the fire service to access too.

To the person with the Jag - surely the car is insured?? Or is it only insured third party but no fire cover?? If it's fully comp you're insured for fires. No you won't be able to buy an equivalent brand new one, but the whole idea is that they'll pay you out for the value of the car and you can buy another one.

I had initially read that it was the short stay car park, rather than long stay, but looking at their website there may be some people that have parked for longer (though at £67.50 per day I certainly wouldn't park there!).

I feel for anyone affected by this. There are likely plenty of people trying to travel today to get to funerals or see sick relatives. An airport isn't just used by holiday makers.

Latest update is that although parts of the car park have collapsed, there are plenty of undamaged cars, and a ramp will be constructed to remove those cars safely from the less affected areas (the main exits/entrance presumably too far damaged)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-67075159
Baffles me as to why there wasn't a sprinkler system in situ in a modern recently built car park?

@Ariela
agree it's (very) surprising that there was no sprinkler system and this is going to have to change -
It now seems confirmed that it was a diesel car that started it however it's likely that some EVs were affected and fires in EVs are notoriously difficult to put out (even though they're actually less likely to catch fire in the first place)

it would appear meanwhile that insurer of the RR which went on fire is going to have a hefty bill indeed.

The very first car I owned caught fire randomly while I was driving on the A23. This was in 2003, so no, it was not electric. Was terrifying.

Thinking of those whose travel plans have been affected and of course those individuals in hospital who I hope will make a full recovery. Sorry also to anyone who’s lost a jag or indeed any other car in the fire, but presumably insurance will pay out (as mine did when my Peugeot 205 went up in smoke).

I remember hearing an item on Jeremy Vine last year I think about Range Rovers bursting into flames. A woman was almost killed as her Range Rover went up while parked right in front of her house and she couldn’t get out and the house almost went up. Can’t remember the full details.

For clarity official statistics show that Petrol/Diesel vehicles are 20x more likely to set on fire than EVs. (Yes twenty times). Can't beat hearsay read online stated as fact though.

It could be any sort of car as it may have just driven a fair few miles and just got to the carpark and parked shortly before the fire so could have had an electrical fault or something like that that was brewing on the way, it may not have necessarily been not driven for a while.

The fire service have said it was a diesel range rover which had just arrived at the car park.

I'm sure the insurance company will be carefully examining the car to find the cause!

So sick and tired of the constant anti EV stuff in the media. So many people quick to jump to incorrect assumptions.

Things happen to ICE vehicles all the time, and nothing gets reported. Multi-storey car parks are always going to be a risky place to park. I never use them.

Hopefully, no-one was injured in this horrendous fire.

Yep, one of our workplaces burned down this year and everyone was
It's an insurance job
It was an EV car

It was neither!

@MeesterSmeeth Thank you for posting that fact. People need to know!

On the cause or vehicle which caught fire, I remember all the fuss about a few 'bendy bus' fires in London, where in reality there were more fires on standard buses.

So I agree we should not assume the type of vehicle which caught fire.

I can see the airport from my house and am WFH today as traffic is just crazy with the road closures. It was quicker for DH to get to his office in Cambridge this morning than to get to the office he was planning to visit in the business park just up the road!

There were lots of people on foot with their luggage in the area last night. One lady I spoke to was being collected by her son from the local Tesco because her car was in the car park on fire. Other passengers had been diverted to Stansted, brought as close as possible to the airport by coach/taxi and then just left at the side of the road. Obviously they couldn't get to their cars as only emergency vehicles were allowed in or out. Local radio this morning said the hotels around the airport were rammed and had people sleeping on the floor.

My friend is on holiday, due to come home this evening. Her flight's been delayed by 4 hours but who knows if it will go at all. She didn't leave her Corsa Jag in the car park though and she's stuck somewhere lovely, so only a tiny violin for her.

Are you the owner of a wonky pub?

Can we be sure it wasn't the clapped out Jag that started it?

@BlowDryRat no, but a Jaguar might be a clue

@BlowDryRat

Yep traffic is a bloody nightmare. My Dd caught the bus (12) at 7.50 and hour and half later the bus had only go as far as the roundabout junction with Vauxhall way. She was trying to get to the university. I convinced her to get off and she walked back home in 20 mins.

I really hope they get the roads open today so traffic can get back to normal.

are you sure this is not a fake news? I hear some ppl set tesla on fire on purpose and initially it is reported in newspapers as tesla caught fire

@Clutterbugsmum I hope so too. DS was annoyed that his school's in walking distance so he didn't have an excuse to stay at home this morning. If I can't get him to football training this evening he'll be furious!

Pesky Jags 😄 Was it a site in Lancs?

@nothingevergoesright Mate, step away from the forum. It's making you miserable and angry, and you're not achieving anything.

@Alighttouchonthetiller how fucking funny you aren't!

@BlowDryRat