A major fire which engulfed two industrial buildings at Lancing Business Park has been confirmed as accidental, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has revealed.
The blaze broke out at the business park in Chartwell Road on Thursday 22 October, prompting around 50 calls to the emergency services as thick smoke rose into the sky.
Firefighters received the first emergency call at 4.24pm, with six fire engines, a water carrier and an aerial ladder platform deployed at the height of the incident.
V2 Radio's Paul Williams, who was in the area at the time, reported seeing a large amount of thick black smoke rising from the direction of Lancing Business Park.
Crews wearing breathing apparatus tackled the flames using hose reels and jets, while thermal imaging cameras helped firefighters identify areas of intense heat.
The fire involved two industrial buildings and was eventually extinguished later that evening.
However, firefighters remained at the scene throughout the night and into Friday morning, monitoring the buildings and damping down remaining hotspots to prevent the fire from reigniting.
The final fire crew left Lancing Business Park at 1pm on Friday 23 October, more than 20 hours after the first emergency call.
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has now confirmed the blaze started accidentally.
A spokesperson for the service said:
"Yesterday (22 October) we received the first of around 50 999 calls at 4.24pm, alerting us to a large fire at Lancing Business Park in Chartwell Road.
"At the height of the incident we had six fire engines, a water carrier and aerial ladder platform at the scene.
"The fire involved two industrial buildings and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire later that evening using hose reels, jets and thermal imaging cameras.
"Crews monitored the scene overnight and this morning and continued damping down hot spots. The last crew left the scene at 1pm this afternoon.”
The spokesperson added: "The fire was of accidental ignition."
The incident prompted a substantial emergency response, with specialist firefighting equipment brought in to tackle the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
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