On Sunday night, a parking garage went up in flames in Liverpool, England, destroying 1,400 cars but, somehow, seriously injuring no one in the process, including six dogs that were rescued from the blaze, according to The Guardian.
Investigators think the fire started in a Land Rover, and it’s thought to be accidental. It spread very, very quickly, engulfing the seven-story parking deck which is near Liverpool’s biggest indoor arena. The majority of the cars belonged to attendees of the Liverpool International Horse Show, taking place in the arena. Video captured at the scene showed the blaze’s intensity:
And a photo captured by fire officials showed its aftermath:
From The Guardian:
The fuel in the burning cars emitted such heat that firefighters did not have enough water to extinguish the blaze quickly using the water mains, he said.
By the time they had set up a high-volume pump to draw from the Mersey, the building had been engulfed in flames. It took some time before further pumps arrived from Greater Manchester and elsewhere in Lancashire.
“It’s a bit like Grenfell. With these very high temperatures, you were never going to put the fire out without the whole building taking hold. The speed at which the fire spreads means you simply aren’t going to put it out,” said Stephens.
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Witnesses described abandoning their vehicles, grabbing possessions and running for their lives after the blaze broke out. Neighbouring flats were also evacuated, with those unable to return or find alternative accommodation housed temporarily in a shelter at a nearby leisure centre.
The structure itself is said to be unstable, but so far hasn’t collapsed. Fire officials remain on the scene; it sounds like it could’ve been a lot worse.
Kevin Booth, 44, from Manchester, had left his Fiat 500X in the car park as he took his wife, Julie, and 16-year-old daughter, Holly, to see the horse show as a treat.
“The flames and the smoke were unbelievable,” he said. “People were saying that they would just wait and get their cars back.
“I thought: ‘Have you seen the fire? Are you joking?’ It was frightening, we could hear the bangs of car windows exploding.”