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A fire at Caldyne Business Park in Rowfant, near Crawley, engulfed over 100 cars on Saturday night, with no reported injuries. A 67-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and has been bailed as authorities investigate the blaze.
A 67-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the incident and has since been bailed. More than 2,000 homes in the vicinity experienced blackouts due to damage to high voltage equipment caused by the fire, but power has now been restored.
Local residents expressed their concerns over the impact of the fire, with one individual stating that it caused “millions of pounds’ worth of damage” and significantly affected those who relied on the affected businesses. In response, UK Power Networks confirmed electricity has been restored after a temporary blackout affected over 2,000 homes, and investigations into the fire’s cause, which involved a workshop and heavy goods vehicles, are ongoing, with a 67-year-old man arrested on suspicion of arson.
What remains unclear — The exact cause of the fire has not been determined.
Fire destroys over 100 cars at Gatwick Airport parking site
A fire tore through a car park near London Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, on Saturday, destroying more than 100 cars.
The ‘significant and complex’ blaze erupted at Caldyne Business Park in Rowfant, near Crawley, at around 8.55pm.
No one was injured in the fire, which roared well into the early hours.
The car park is often used by holidaymakers, those staying at nearby holiday parks and local businesses.
Megan Maynard’s brother’s car was among those gutted by the inferno.
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She told a Crawley Facebook group: ‘As many of you will know, yesterday’s devastating fire in Rowfant caused millions of pounds’ worth of damage and destroyed the livelihoods of so many people – one of them being my brother.
‘My brother and his best friend ran K&L Automotive, a breakdown and recovery business based at the site and in just one night everything they had worked so hard to build was taken from them.’
Ashley Riley, who started a GoFundMe to raise money for the family, added: ‘They have lost their livelihoods and the amount of money to replace everything is [immeasurable].
‘They all have families to support and will now struggle to get life back on track and to rebuild their business from scratch.’
More than 2,000 homes nearby suffered blackouts when electricity had to be shut off after flames damaged high voltage equipment.
Power has since been restored. UK Power Networks, which provides electricity to the area, is reporting no known outages.
The cause of the fire is unclear, but fire services say it involved a workshop, electric and heavy goods vehicles and cylinders.
A man, 67, has been arrested on suspicion of arson. He has been bailed.