Town centre fire brings Bognor Regis to a standstill

The Peugeot 106 and Ford Focus were write-offs after the blaze broke out on Tuesday, July 22, on the fifth floor of the Fitzleet multi-storey car park above Morrisons.

Firefighters say the cause was accidental. They believe the hot weather sparked the fire in the Peugeot which had only been parked there by its female owner ten minutes earlier.

It then quickly spread to the neighbouring Ford before the flames were put out. Both cars are owned by workers at Morrisons.

Watch manager Ian Paine, of White Watch at Bognor Regis fire station, said: "The cars are both 100 per cent write-offs. They are just shells at the end of the day.

"Fortunately, because of the time of the fire there weren't many people close by. If it had been a bit earlier, it could have been a lot more serious because of the number of people who would have been around.

"The fire could have been more dangerous as well if it had been on a lower floor."

The drama began just after 4.30pm. The first anyone knew about it was a loud bang which echoed around the town centre.

Smoke could soon be seen pouring from the top of the car park. It was quickly followed by the sight of flames leaping three or four metres into the air as the fire took hold.

The fire alarm sounded in Morrisons to lead staff to evacuate the store.

Numerous calls alerted the emergency services. Police sealed off both ends of Bedford Street and closed the car park's entrance and exit off Queensway.

Scores of crowds gathered around the site, particularly at the junction of Bedford Street and the London Road precinct. The smell of burning tyres hung in the air and the smoke could be seen from the surrounding area.

Mr Paine said the amount of smoke arose from the quantity of plastic used in modern cars.

The ten firefighters called to the scene used the dry riser, a pipe which runs throughout the frame of the store and car park, to pump water to the blazing cars.

"The biggest challenge we face at a fire which is so high up is the water supply," he stated.

"So we used the dry riser to connect a hose from the fire appliance and pump it up to the top. It's unusual for us to be called upon to deal with a fire at that height."

The fire was declared out some 35 minutes after the alarm was raised. Bedford Street was re-opened to traffic by 5.30pm.