A huge fire inside a multi-storey car park at Luton Airport could have been put out faster if a suitable sprinkler system had been installed, a report has concluded.
Four firefighters were injured in the blaze which destroyed 1,352 vehicles on October 10 2023 and involved more than 100 firefighters tackling it at its height.
The report from the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) said that while a sprinkler system in the car park was not mandatory, if one had been installed it would have made the fire easier to tackle.
“If a suitable sprinkler system had been installed, it may have changed and delayed the pattern of fire spread, increasing the chances of a successful outcome once firefighting operations had begun,”
the report said.
“A combination of the wind spreading the fire through the open-sided car park, the impact of running fuel fires, and the early onset of signs of structural collapse all prevented internal offensive firefighting from continuing and contributed to the significant scale of the fire and subsequent financial loss.”
The car park partially collapsed during the incident, and was later fully demolished. Construction of a new car park is under way, and “includes plans for a fire suppressant system”, the airport has said.
