A terrifying blaze at a caravan park in England has highlighted just how vulnerable travellers living in close quarters can be to fire.
Authorities say 40 caravans were destroyed and another 40 damaged by heat during the inferno in the early hours of the morning at Ainmoor Grange Caravan Park in Stretton, Derbyshire.
No one was injured in the incident.
Luckily, firefighters managed to contain the blaze to a storage area of the van park. Only a wooden fence reportedly separated the caravans in storage from the vans people were actually sleeping in, so there is a strong awareness that things could have been a lot worse.
One man who was asleep in a caravan at the time
The charred remain of the vans in the English caravan park. PIC: Facebook/ Marissa Bell / Derbyshire Times
told the Derbyshire Times newspaper that he woke to see the flames through his window.
“I could feel the heat from quite far away,” he said. “At first just three vans were on fire and it was terrifying how quickly it spread.”
Another man, retired engineer Michael Cheetham, 65, was shocked to have lost the van he had stored at the site for the past 18 years.
“I’m devastated,” he told the Derbyshire Times. “I saw a video of them blowing up – mine’s definitely gone.”
There are about 500 caravans – both static and touring – on the site.
John Cook, from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, said crews had made an aggressive attack on the fire and created a ‘fire break’.
“By doing that we managed to contain the area to the place of origin and reduce significant damage to the whole campsite,” he said.
As the blaze was brought under control, a black plume of smoke could be seen for miles around.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue said a joint investigation with Derbyshire Police had been launched to determine the cause of the fire.
