Rochford fire: Inferno rips through 200 vehicles at Essex scrapyard as dozens of firefighters rush to tackle the blaze
- Around 60 firefighters battled the blaze in Purdeys Way, Rochford
- There are 2,000 cars at the site, which is operated by car auction firm Copart UK
An inferno ripped through and destroyed 200 vehicles at a scrapyard in Essex where Mercedes-Benzes and Porsches are kept by a car auction firm.
A video shows the blaze taking hold of the yard, in Purdeys Way, Rochford, on Friday evening as the intense heat from the flames starts to melt the metal.
Some 60 firefighters were battling the burning yard at the height of the fire with people living nearby told to shut their windows.
An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause.
The blaze first took hold at around 9pm with crews still on site more than 12 hours later.
The fire was brought under control two hours later but crews worked through the night to dampen down the site before packing up at around 11am on Saturday.
Pictures show the devastating damage caused by the flames. Cars stacked in rows of three storeys were left nothing but melted, twisted metal, with piles of ash on the ground.
The inferno first took hold at Copart UK’s Rochford scrapyard at around 9pm on Friday. Firefighters got the fire under control around two hours but remained at the site until 11am on Saturday
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said around 200 of 2,000 cars were destroyed in the blaze
Resident Dinah Symonds told the BBC she was awoken by explosions and feared the flames would spread towards her home.
She added: ‘That’s what really concerned us more than anything else but it was quite spectacular.’
The site is operated by car auction firm Copart UK, reported the BBC, with it due to have a sale on Monday.
Some of the cars listed for auction on the firm’s website include a £15,000 Mercedes-Benz, £41,500 Range Rover, and a Porsche Cayenne V6 with a retail value of £9,975. It is currently not known if any of the vehicles up for auction tomorrow were destroyed in the blaze.
Around 10 percent of the vehicles at the scrapyard were wiped out with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service saying there were 2,000 cars at the site.
A spokesman for the scrapyard said the cause of the fire would be investigated ‘once safe to do so’.
Pictures show the devastating damage caused by the flames. Cars stacked in rows of three storeys were left nothing but melted, twisted metal, with piles of ash on the ground
A spokesman for the scrapyard said the cause of the fire would be investigated ‘once safe to do so’
The scrapyard is a car auction site with models such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes-Benz all being listed for sale on the firm’s website
Before and after the fire took hold of the scrapyard with firefighters seen carrying a hose as flames take hold of the yard in the background
According to its latest accounts on Companies House for the year ending July 31, 2022, Copart had a turnover of £189.9million and made an operating profit of £58.8million.
The firm has sites in 15 UK towns and cities, as well as in Germany, Spain, and Finland.
A fire service spokesperson said during the incident: ‘Nearby residents are being advised to close their windows.
‘The cars are stacked in rows of three storeys. Firefighters have the fire contained and have created a fire break to stop the fire spreading to the remaining cars.’
Source: Read Full Article
