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Firefighters Hurt as Engines Collide

Apr 9, 2008 | Jonathan Stayton | News

Seven firefighters were taken to hospital after two fire engines collided at the scene of a blaze.

The two Worthing vehicles smashed into each other as they attended a fire in Upper Beeding.

Seven of the nine crew on board were taken to Worthing Hospital suffering from whiplash injuries but nobody was seriously injured and all were later discharged.

It is not clear how the accident happened but the cabin of one vehicle was seriously damaged and the windscreen shattered.

The fire broke out at a vehicle repair workshop opposite Shoreham Cement Works shortly after 9.15pm on Monday.

At its peak 80 firefighters were battling the flames.

Eight fire engines plus specialist appliances, including two water carriers, one breathing apparatus team and an aerial ladder, were sent from from across East and West Sussex to the workshop off the A283 Steyning Road.

A spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service described the fire as a "massive job".

He said: "The first crew to arrive, from Steyning, found flames shooting through the roof at one end of the workshop, which contained cars and an unknown quantity of cylinders and welding equipment.

"Due to the risk of cylinders being involved in the fire they had to fight the fire defensively using water from ground monitors to create a water curtain, preventing the fire spread breaking through into the main part of the workshop which contained a number of small businesses."

Supporting appliances arrived from Hove, Shoreham, Worthing and Lancing and the road was closed to the public for three hours between 11pm and 2am. Relief crews were in attendance overnight to cool the cylinders and remained at the scene for much of yesterday.

The workshop that caught fire was used as a vehicle body spray building, stacked with highly flammable and unstable chemicals.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time, although the possibility of it starting accidentally during welding operations has not been ruled out.

Firefighters have begun an investigation.