Lessons must be learned from Bicester fire, MP says

An MP who visited the business park where three people were killed in a fire has said "lessons must be learned" from the tragedy.

Firefighters Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38, along with father-of-two Dave Chester, 57, were killed in the blaze that engulfed the Bicester Motion site in Oxfordshire on 15 May.

The Labour MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds, said visiting the scene on Wednesday was "incredibly sombre and sobering".

Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive are liaising on the investigation into the fire's cause.

Two more firefighters are in hospital after suffering serious injuries in the incident, but remain in a stable condition.

Ms Dodds said "all of us are are really thinking about those two brave individuals... and really wishing them all the very best".

"It is very important that those who lost their lives are remembered, and also their families," she said.

Ms Dodds described the incident as "horrendous", and said it reminded her of "the huge debt that we owe to our firefighters".

"Clearly, in this case they had run towards the danger rather than away from it, as they always do," the MP said.

She added: "We have facilities like those at Bicester Motion in other parts of the country, so it's important that lessons are learned for the future."

The fire was reported at about 18:30 BST on 15 May and rapidly spread through a former aircraft hangar at the site on Buckingham Road.

A major incident was declared and 10 fire and rescue crews were called to tackle the blaze as witnesses reported seeing black smoke in the sky.

Thames Valley Police said post-mortem examinations showed that all three died from multiple traumatic injuries, likely caused by "the collapse of part of a structure".

Two gold plaques have been placed at the site to commemorate those who died.

Bicester Motion is home to more than 50 specialist businesses, focused on classic car restoration and engineering on the former site of RAF Bicester.

It was home to RAF Bomber Command in World War Two and became redundant in 2004.

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