COUNTY NEWS UPDATE: Crews investigate major fire at business park

Firefighters are investigating what caused a major fire at a business park in Sussex in the early hours of this morning (June 26).
Rowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie HowlandRowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie Howland
Rowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie Howland

Around 60 firefighters tackled the huge blaze at Rowfant Business Centre in Wallage Lane, near Crawley Down, which involved tanks of red diesel and heating oil.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (WSFRS) was called at around 1.15am and 12 fire engines attended, with firefighters and officers working hard throughout the night to control the blaze.

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Crews from WSFRS were supported by colleagues from East Sussex, Surrey and Gatwick Fire and Rescue Services to bring the fire under control and minimise the spread of the blaze.

Rowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie HowlandRowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie Howland
Rowfant Business Centre fire. Pictures by Eddie Howland

The fire, although causing a large plume of smoke, was located in an unpopulated area and there was no evacuation of residential properties, said a WSFRS spokesman.

It was put out just before 2pm.

Adrian Murphy, incident commander, added: “Our crews are still on scene and we continue to work closely with the Environment Agency and other partners to protect the surrounding water course.

“Our priority now is to make this scene safe. I would like to thank all of our crews, and our colleagues from across our borders, for their hard work throughout the night to contain what was a very complicated incident.

Rowfant Business Centre fire. Picture: Eddie HowlandRowfant Business Centre fire. Picture: Eddie Howland
Rowfant Business Centre fire. Picture: Eddie Howland
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“At this stage it remains too early to speculate on the cause of the fire, an investigation is ongoing.”

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