A fire has damaged around 5o% of Tesla’s car dealership site in Crawley, Gatwick on Saturday morning
The blaze broke out in the workshop area at the County Oak Way premises shortly before 10.30 Saturday morning.
On scene at the #Tesla dealership fire this afternoon in #Crawley. The fire has been controlled by West Sussex and @SurreyFRS. Please avoid the area @Susy Radio pic.twitter.com/n8kMOM90zG
— Joe Exler (@JoeExler) March 2, 2019
The fire service said on Twitter, “The Tesla car dealership building in Crawley is currently well alight. We were called at 10.29am, crews at scene. Please avoid this busy area.”
Adding, “We are currently in attendance of a significant fire in Crawley, on County Oak Way. Six engines and an Aerial Ladder Platform at scene.”
Thomas Ferryman an eyewitness said to GetSurrey, he heard “many small explosions” and said he believed they were the car batteries exploding.
A spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said, that the blaze was now under control, and firefighters were searching the building for any remaining hotspots.
Eight fire engines, an aerial ladder platform and an incident command unit were initially at the scene with, almost 50 firefighters.
Images of Tesla Crawley fire by Eddie Howland. 8 engines incl @SurreyFRS attn & fire damage was contained to 25% of building with further 25% damaged by heat & smoke. Incident remains open for re-inspection pic.twitter.com/vzzyTNHRQM
— West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (@WestSussexFire) March 2, 2019
The spokeswoman added, “Four appliance are still at the scene with an aerial platform and an incident command unit.
“The incident is now being scaled down as we have put a stop message on it, meaning it won’t get any bigger.
“They are now just locating any hotspots in the property to make sure it is extinguished, and we will return later to ensure the fire is out.”
The spokeswoman added, “The fire is believed to have started in a store room for parts and spread to the main building. It was an accidental ignition.”
A spokeswoman for Tesla said, “The fire at Tesla’s Gatwick Service Centre has stopped and we are working with the fire department to learn more about what caused this incident.
“We can confirm that no Tesla staff or customers were injured or hurt.”
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