WITH UPDATE ON TUESDAY 2 JANUARY 2018
Note: Since this post and the update aerial video footage has shown that at least 15 cars survived the fire untouched. However, it is not known if the cars can be recovered as the building is expected to be demolished. Read more and watch the video at the Liverpool Echo. It was also announced on Sunday 21 January 2018 that former Grand National winning jockey Bob Champion had lost photos related to his 1981 victory at the Aintree, Liverpool horse race on Aldaniti. He was taking the photos to his publisher for an autobiography and they were destroyed in his car in the fire. Read more on the BBC News website.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were working throughout the night to tackle a massive fire in the multi-storey car part next to the Liverpool Echo Arena. The fire began around 5pm accidentally in a parked car before quickly spreading to other cars and throughout the building. The car park has a capacity of 1,600 vehicles. It is thought there were 1,400 in the car park last night – everyone of them has been destroyed. The neighbouring Echo Arena was scheduled last night to continue its hosting of the Liverpool International Horse Show, but yesterday’s evening events were cancelled. Many of the horses used in the show were being stabled on the first floor of the car park but they were all safely removed into the Arena. There were no reports of any injuries to people or horses, but last night is going to be an expensive one for both the car park’s owners, its insurers and the insurers of the 1,400 cars lost to the inferno.
Nearby homes were evacuated and a shelter was opened for people stranded in the city centre from the loss of their car. Being New Year’s Eve, public transport was not operating after about 7pm which would have created even more problems for people trying to get out of the city. Lifestyles gym on Park Road in Toxteth opened its doors to people and many Liverpudlians were offering beds for the night for people and some even stables for the horses. Aintree International Equestrian Centre also offered its stables for stranded horses. Thick black smoke descended on the area, including the main road The Strand that runs along the waterfront close to the Arena and the car park. The noise of exploding car windows peppered the air and nearby residents were told to stay indoors and keep their windows closed, with special mention being given to those with breathing conditions such as asthma. Up to 12 fire engines were tackling the blaze.
Some owners of the cars inside the car park had gathered nearby, hoping to wait for the fire to be dealt with so they could retrieve their cars. As the fire spread it became clear that they were going to be waiting in vain. The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson later tweeted that “Anyone whose car was in the arena car park should go to the Galeria in the exhibition centre. Council and arena staff will help with getting home or emergency accommodation.” Car owners were told that there was no hope of saving any of the cars and that they should contact their insurance companies.
SOME EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS AND STATEMENTS
Merseyside Police: “Merseyside Police can confirm that they are dealing with an incident at the car park of the Liverpool ECHO Arena and a number of vehicles are on fire. Emergency services were called to the scene tonight (Sunday 31 December 2017) at around 5pm and nearby apartments have been evacuated due to smoke. A number of horses have safely been taken from the scene following The Horse Of The Year Show which is currently showcasing in the Arena.”
James Morris, from Formby: “At around 5pm, the announcer [at the horse show] told us that there was fire in the car park next door. I think it was a car fire on the top floor. The horses, which were on a lower level of the car park, were all brought in to the arena. All the horses were safe. The announcer then advised us all to go get a coffee or do some shopping while emergency services put out the fire. I think most people decided to go home.”
Liverpool ECHO Arena spokesman: “We regret to announce that the Liverpool International Horse Show has been cancelled tonight due to a serious fire in the multi-storey car park on site. All people and horses are safe and secure. We are working alongside the emergency services to ensure the fire is brought under control and to make the site safe as quickly as possible. Please note that there is no access to the ACC Liverpool site. We will provide regular updates when we can.” They later added: “The possibility of rescheduling the show to tomorrow has been discussed, but unfortunately this has not proven possible. If you are parked in the Liverpool Waterfront car park please don’t come to Exhibition Centre Liverpool or on site to report it. Please keep monitoring social media as we will post updates as we know more.”
Merseyside Police: “The area around Kings Dock is cordoned off and road closures are in place, the public are asked to keep away from the arena until further notice. No-one has been seriously injured in the incident. Surrounding buildings have been evacuated as a precaution. Initial investigations indicate that an accidental fire within a vehicle caused other cars to ignite. We believe that all vehicles parked in the car park have been destroyed and advise owners to contact their insurance companies. We will provide regular updates on our Twitter and Facebook feeds. Anyone affected by fire at Liverpool Echo Arena and unable to get home or need shelter, Liverpool CC has a Reception Centre at Lifestyles, Park Road, Steble Street, L8 6QH.”
Mayor Joe Anderson: “Anyone whose car was in the Arena car park should go to the Galeria in the Exhibition centre. Council and arena staff will help with getting home or emergency accommodation. If anyone has transport and willing to help people who are stuck because of tonight’s fire get home (Especially if you have a minibus) – can you please call 01512330023 and speak to my office. This is a major incident with extensive damage to the car park. There will be no show tonight and the fire and emergency services are working hard, so please stay clear and out of their way.”
Merseyside Fire And Rescue: “The fire is ongoing but has been contained to the car park. MFRS received support from brigades from the NW region through the early hours. We are likely to be engaged at the scene for several hours and further investigation will follow firefighting action.”
Unnamed women from Ireland who was at the horse show: “All our equipment has been destroyed in there, saddles and everything.”
Unnamed woman who was at the horse show: “I was at the ECHO Arena last night with my mum celebrating my birthday and my mum’s car was in the car park, which had Christmas presents in the boot. I cannot thank the stewards, police and firefighters enough for the help and hard work with such an incident which couldn’t be for seen.”
Sue Wright, wife of former England footballer Mark Wright: “We saw the car go on fire. It was an old Land Rover type called 999. We then went to evacuate the horses. The flames were just shooting out of the engine and coming past the tyres. It looked like a ball of fire on the front of the car and it was producing a lot of smoke. I told Mark to take the kids outside and I went back in to call 999 and take a picture so I could show fire crews exactly where the fire was on level three. We just left everything in the car – handbags, telephone, cash – and just went. It was all insignificant as long as everyone was OK and we could get the horses out. I saw one car on fire but it was clear it was ferocious and spreading. By the time I called 999, the fire was well away and it was clear it was going to spread – so I called the organisers who are friends of ours to tell them what was happening. They were already aware, so I went to speak to the chief fire officer about getting the horses evacuated from underneath the arena. When I went down, I could already tell the horses were spooked, so I told the stable hands that were there to put the bridles on the horses and get them out. I knew someone else would’ve done the same but I just happened to be the first one there. Better to be cautious than anything else. My children have been left very upset by it but we’re home and everyone’s safe, which is all that matters. Our thoughts are with the emergency services who are dealing with it.”
Jan Clarke, from Adelaide, Australia: “We thought it was firecrackers. All we could see was the smoke. We could see the smoke getting darker and darker and we heard multiple explosions. The worst part was trying to find somewhere [to shelter]. We found a policeman and he told us to go to the Jury’s Inn and they helped us to get here [a nearby McDonald’s] Everyone here was fabulous, I couldn’t fault them. At least it was out of the cold.”
Sean Lightning, from Northwood, Shropshire: Walking with his wife back to the Arena they smelt “burning plastic.” He said: “It was surreal. I said, ‘knowing our luck it’ll be the venue’, and it was. People in the street were helping us, ringing our family and leaving messages.”
Daniel Delsart, a French show jumper: “I rushed in with a few other riders and officials to pull out the last few horses in the multi-storey. The smoke was getting worse and worse and the horses were pretty alarmed with all the fire engine sirens and bangs from cars exploding. The scale of it was crazy, it’s like something that you see on TV but you never think it’s possible. It [the Horse Show] was meant to be fun but I ended up having to drive all the way from Liverpool to Northamptonshire, on my birthday, in my truck.”
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, on Twitter: “Car Park fire was reported to me at 4.45pm and I was told it was containable,it would have been if we had enough appliances responding,Chief Fire officer confirmed my view that 2 years ago we would have had 8 fire engines from 4 stations responding instead of 2. A final thank you to the staff at @ACCLiverpool who I have been working with today and last night. They’ve worked hard to help everyone they can who has been affected by last night’s fire, giving up their NYE. Very proud of all the staff who work there.”
Dan Stephens, Chief Fire Officer Merseyside Fire & Rescue: “My understanding is that the fire started in a vehicle engine compartment and quickly took hold. It was quite a large vehicle and then quickly spread to the surrounding vehicles. It becomes very difficult to deal with running fuel fires because you need foam and we didn’t have access to foam immediately. Crews are working to clear each of the levels. We managed to get up on the the roof earlier today and rescue four dogs. In a vehicle on the seventh floor we managed to rescue two dogs and two dogs rescued yesterday evening before we were fully involved. The capacity of the car park to my knowledge is around 1,400 vehicles, seven storeys, 200 vehicles per storey. The event yesterday was attended by 4,000 – 5,000 people, to highly likely the car park was at either near or full capacity. Had the car park had sprinklers that would certainly have given us a far better chance to get sufficient water on the fire to put that out. But beyond a certain point, as I explained earlier on, the heat release rate from vehicles is such that we just didn’t have access to the water to put it out. “I think we are very fortunate the fact there were no serious injuries. A couple of people had minor smoke inhalation. The first attending crews acted very assertively. We made an offensive internal attack and that bought us time. We were not able to stop the fire from spreading. The fact of the matter is I don’t believe we were ever going to be able to do that. We just didn’t have enough access to water. We didn’t have the flow rate to be able to do it, but what it did do was give us time to be able to commence evacuating the car park, surrounding flats and the ECHO Arena. There has been localised collapse within the car park so the structure is unstable. We do have firefighters working in there – at the minute they are working in areas to the edges so it’s the centre of the structure where we have had the collapse. As it stands now the structure is unstable. I think yet again the people of Liverpool showed their warmth the kindness and it’s what you come to expect from our city. Yet again, the people of Liverpool stepped up to the plate and looked out for people who came here to visit and enjoy our city.”
Adam Jones, local resident: “After it was clear that the fire was getting worse last night all the residents who were outside the apartment block were quickly moved much further away, most to the McDonalds over the road. I’m more lucky than some having family who live in the city so I was able to find other accommodation quite quickly, although it was great how quickly the council moved to provide a shelter for those not quite as fortunate. I tried to get into my apartment again at half 11 this morning and told I couldn’t yet, they were still assessing the car park. It’s certainly not the way I wanted to spend New Year, but it could have been a lot worse so I want to thank all the emergency services who have done a brilliant job.”
Liverpool ECHO Arena statement: “We are continuing to work with the emergency services who have worked tirelessly throughout the night to bring the fire under control. We can confirm again that all people and horses are safe and there were no injuries during this terrible incident. We are sorry to customers who were due to attend the evening performance of the Liverpool International Horse Show, which was cancelled as a result of the fire, as well as those people whose vehicles were in the car park and who have been affected by this situation. We ask for everyone’s patience and understanding while investigations continue. We are extremely thankful to the emergency services for their efforts. We would also like to thank the people who kindly provided transport for customers to enable them to travel home, as well as Liverpool City Council for establishing a relief centre for those needing shelter. Merseyside Police have advised that vehicle owners should contact their own insurance company. Please also refer to police updates – @merseypolice.”
Unnamed man visiting friends in the city for New Year: “We stepped out of the pub and smelled smoke but didn’t think anything of it. We just thought it was fireworks. My car’s gone but what can you do? At the end of the day it’s only a car.”
James Forshaw: “The whole top level of the arena car park [was ablaze]. It is completely burnt out today. You can see that. The top two levels are the worst. I must give credit to the ECHO Arena. The staff were good, they were completely calm in getting everyone out. After what happening in Manchester, it was good to see. There was no screaming or panicking.”
UPDATE: Tuesday 2 January 2018
Estimates of the number of vehicles destroyed in Sunday’s car park fire in Liverpool have ranged from 1,300 to 1,600. The car park, adjacent to the Liverpool ECHO Arena, had a capacity of 1,600. The latest figure quoted by the BBC is 1,300. What is known is that every single vehicle parked in the car park on Sunday night was destroyed in the huge fire. The fire started in a single car on the third floor, an incident that was captured on camera by Sue Wright, the wife of former England footballer Mark Wright. They gave an account of the moment to the BBC.
The dramatic photos in this update were released today by Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and show the devastation the fire caused. The MFRS said that the temperatures of the fire reached 1,000C. Both the MFRS and Liverpool’s Mayor Joe Anderson have questioned the role in government budget cuts in the fire, notably that the lack of sprinklers and fire engines to respond to the fire was highly likely to have allowed the fire to get out of control. Mayor Anderson said in a tweet, “…but for the cuts we would have had 8 engines at scene instead of 2, in my view the fire would have been contained.” Although twelve engines responded to the fire at its peak, most of these had to be drafted in from Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
This dependency on neighbouring region’s engines is a direct result of budget cuts to the fire service and makes responding to large fires or emergencies much more difficult. Dan Stephens, who is the Chief Fire Officer of MFRS said tightened budgets meant large fires present huge challenges. He said that they now “call and rely on neighbouring services” for help. While this may not create too many problems in normal circumstances, it would be catastrophic and wholly inadequate if their were more than one major fire or incident at a time. For instance, any engines used in Liverpool on Sunday from Lancashire and Greater Manchester are then not available to deal with incidents in their own operational areas. Budget cuts are gambling that there will not be more incidents than can be dealt with at any one time. It is inevitable that sooner or later this will prove a disastrous gamble.
The car park is said to not be at risk of collapsing. The level of damage, however, may result in its ultimate demolition. However, at present, this could be a problem simply because of the number of destroyed vehicles inside the structure.
Sources & Further Reading:
- Liverpool Echo Arena car park fire destroys 1,400 vehicles – Liverpool Echo, Monday 1 January 2018
- Liverpool fire latest: Flames destroy all vehicles in 1,600-capacity car park, says Merseyside Police – The Independent – Sunday 31 December 2017
- Fire in Liverpool destroys hundreds of cars – latest updates from the scene – Liverpool Echo – Monday 1 January 2018 – by Lorna Hughes, Ben Turner and Rebecca Koncienzcy
- Liverpool ECHO Arena car park fire – everything we know so far – Liverpool Echo – Sunday 31 December 2017 – by Jenny Kirkham and David Raven
- ‘All vehicles destroyed’: fire rages in Liverpool multistorey car park – The Guardian – Monday 1 January 2018 – by Press Association
- Ex-Liverpool captain and wife helped rescue horses from ECHO Arena car park fire – Liverpool Echo – Sunday 31 December 2017 – by Jenny Kirkham
- Dog needed oxygen mask after being rescued from burning home – Metro – Monday 1 January 2018 – by Bradley Jolly
- Shocking aftermath of arena car park fire that gutted more than 1,600 vehicles – Metro – Monday 1 January 2018 – by Bradley Jolly
- Liverpool car park fire images released – BBC – Tuesday 2 January 2017
- Dramatic photos show aftermath of Liverpool ECHO Arena car park fire – Liverpool Echo – Tuesday 2 January 2018 – by Peter Harris
- Latest dramatic photos show wreckage of cars after ECHO Arena car park – Liverpool Echo – Tuesday 2 January 2018 – by Emilia Bona
- Grand National champion loses photos in car park fire – BBC – Sunday 21 January 2018
- Liverpool car park fire a ‘perfect storm’ – New Civil Engineer – Friday 2 February 2018 – by Katherine Smale
- First picture of new ECHO Arena car park design – Liverpool Echo – Thursday 22 March 2018 – by Alistair Houghton
- Waterfront car park wrecked in huge blaze set to be replaced – Liverpool Echo – Friday 6 July 2018 – by Nick Tyrrell
- The ECHO Arena car park is FINALLY being pulled down – all the details you need to know – Liverpool Echo – Wednesday 21 November 2018 – by Liam Thorp
- Eerie footage shows charred remains of ECHO Arena car park finally being demolished – Liverpool Echo, Wednesday 21 November 2018 – by Jenny Kirkham, Late Reporter
STEPHEN NULTY 