A major incident was declared at London Luton Airport (LLA) after a massive fire broke out at a multi-storey car park.
On the evening of 10 October 2023, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) responded to calls about a severe fire on level three of Luton Airport’s Terminal Car Park 2. At its peak, 100 firefighters attended the blaze, with crews attending from nearby fire services – Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, and London Fire Brigade.
With the fire quickly escalating, BFRS soon declared a major incident. It is understood that the blaze, involving a car, had spread rapidly through the structure. “One half of the structure is fully involved in fire and the building has suffered a significant structural collapse,” the service said.
Crews utilised 15 rescue pumps and three aerial appliances. BFRS added: “Firefighting operations were undertaken to control the blaze and protect nearby buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the Luton DART [shuttle service].”
As reported by the Evening Standard, Chief Fire Officer for BFRS, Andrew Hopkinson told reporters: "On arrival, my officers were faced with a severe and rapidly spreading fire involving a large number of vehicles that ultimately spread to multiple floors and involved a partial collapse of the car park.
“The incident was declared a major incident at 9.38pm. The car park has a capacity of just over 1,900 cars and we estimate up to 1,500 cars are in the affected car park.”
Video footage taken at the scene shows flames issuing from two sides of the multi-storey structure, with plumes of thick smoke surrounding the building. Locals were advised to keep windows and doors closed as crews worked to bring the fire under control.
Bedfordshire Police and the East of England Ambulance were also on hand to assist the operation. As reported by The Telegraph, five people, including four firefighters, were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
That same evening, airport officials posted an update on X, formerly Twitter, which said: “All flights are currently suspended as emergency services respond to a fire in Terminal Car Park 2. Access to the airport is currently restricted and we ask that people do not travel to the airport at this time.”
On the morning of 11 October, access to the airport continued to be significantly restricted, with authorities advising people to avoid the area due to “severe traffic delays”. In an update, BFRS said:
“Crews have worked extremely hard throughout the night and into the early morning to control and extinguish the fire. Firefighting operations are monitoring the smouldering remains and will continue throughout the day.
“Currently, four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene, and crews are working in conjunction with the airport fire service.
“All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel to the airport.”
The service added that a full fire investigation would take place to determine the cause of the fire.
(Photograph by Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)