Three dead in 'devastating' fire at former UK airbase
LONDON: Three people, including two firefighters, have died in a fire at a former British airbase, officials said Friday (May 16), in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a "devastating" incident.
"Firefighters and Oxfordshire County Council colleagues are today mourning the loss of two firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty while dealing with a major incident in Bicester (southern England)," the council said in a statement.
A member of the public was also killed, and two other firefighters remained hospitalised with serious injuries after the blaze erupted Thursday evening, said the statement.
"Devastating news," Starmer wrote on X.
"My thoughts are with their families and friends. The bravery of our firefighters is astounding. Hoping those in hospital make a full and swift recovery," he added.
Ten fire and rescue crews attended the fire at former RAF base Bicester Motion, now home to more than 50 businesses focused on classic car restoration and engineering.
Thick black smoke was still rising from the site on Friday, but the fire was under control, said Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer at Oxfordshire County Council.
It is very rare for UK firefighters to be killed while tackling blazes, and since 2010 only four deaths had previously been recorded by the Fire Brigades Union.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
4 days ago
- CNA
Deep Dive Podcast: Calling 995? You may be rerouted to the NurseFirst helpline instead – here's how it works
Non-life-threatening 995 calls will be directed to NurseFirst, a triage helpline, under a six-month nationwide trial aimed at easing the burden on emergency services. How exactly does it work and will the public adapt? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards find out from Col Dr David Pflug, chief medical officer of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Dr Jade Kua, clinical lead for the NurseFirst helpline and senior consultant at the emergency medicine department in Woodlands Health. Here is an excerpt from the conversation: Otelli Edwards, host: In your press release you mentioned burns, which are like, 15 per cent (are considered non-life-threatening). To the average person, (what) is this? Do you have video calls to see: "Oh okay, this is actually a 20 per cent burn." Col Dr David Pflug, chief medical officer of the Singapore Civil Defence Force: This is all very protocolised. The actual protocol is to describe to the person on the other end of the line what is the size, in terms of coin size and palm size. And they would just estimate something that they would understand and communicate. And from there, we do the back-end medical processing. Dr Jade Kua, clinical lead for NurseFirst: That's right. So we want to simply be able to understand what the situation is like through the questions that are on the protocol. And just to answer your question, your palm is 1 per cent. Steven Chia, host: Oh wow. So 15 per cent is maybe my whole arm. Dr Kua: So just to highlight, if you did feel like something bad is happening and you did feel like you were freaking out, no one's saying that you shouldn't be calling 995. So say you're calling on behalf of your grandpa, and your grandpa looks like he's having a heart attack, we're saying it's appropriate to call 995. But if you weren't sure, let's say you sprained your ankle and you weren't sure if this is a fracture? Is this a sprain? Should I just put some rubbing ointment on it? Then if you called the NurseFirst helpline, our nurses would guide you on where to go. If you had called 995, then the 995 call centre would say: "Okay, this sounds like this is not a life-threatening emergency. We're going to now transfer the call to NurseFirst, and NurseFirst can take it from there. Why?
CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
India test captain Gill ready to lead in his own way
India's new test captain Shubman Gill knows he has big shoes to fill after the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but he wants to develop his own style of leadership, he said on Thursday. Rohit and Kohli, former skippers and batting mainstays of the team, both quit test cricket weeks before the start of India's five-test series in England. Gill, 25, impressed as captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans, leading them to the playoffs. "The pressure comes with every tour. The two big players have served us for so long, it is not easy to fill that space," Gill told a news conference in Mumbai. "My style of captaincy will be my own, it will develop with experience. I like to communicate with the players. I would try to get them comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses. The players should feel secure, only then will they perform well." Gill was picked as captain ahead of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in two recent tests in Australia. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar cited workload management concerns over the 31-year-old Bumrah who will not play all five tests in England. "We haven't taken the call over which three games (Bumrah is) going to play," India head coach Gautam Gambhir said. "We are going to have a discussion with him and a lot will depend on the results of the series as well, where the series is heading." At least 11 people died and 47 were injured on Wednesday in a crowd surge outside IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru's home stadium during celebrations of their maiden title. "My heart goes out to the people who lost their lives," Gambhir said. "We are all equally responsible for this. Every life matters. If we are not ready to hold a road show, we should not do that."
CNA
6 days ago
- CNA
Middlesbrough part ways with manager Carrick
Middlesbrough have sacked head coach Michael Carrick, the second-tier Championship club said on Wednesday after a disappointing season in which they missed out on a spot in the promotion playoffs. Former Manchester United and England player Carrick took charge of Middlesbrough in 2022 and guided them to a fourth-placed finish and the playoffs in his first season, but the club have finished 8th and 10th in their past two campaigns. "Middlesbrough Football Club has today parted company with head coach Michael Carrick. Michael's assistants Jonathan Woodgate and Graeme Carrick have also departed the club," the club said in a statement. Carrick made more than 700 club appearances in his career and won five Premier League titles and the Champions League at United under Alex Ferguson. His first stint in management came during an interim spell at United following the sacking of Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021.
