7:10 am, April 8, 2023
A huge fire has caused substantial damage to Inchcape’s Jaguar Land Rover dealership in Preston.
At the height of the blaze – which broke out in the early hours of Good Friday – 11 fire engines were used to tackle the blaze.
The dealership is now closed while investigations take place to establish the cause of the fire.
Local media outlets speculated that it had been caused by an electric vehicle inside the showroom, but this has not been confirmed by Inchcape or the fire service.
In drone footage shared by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service flames can be seen ripping through the roof of the Dual Arch facility.
Nearby residents were warned to keep their doors and windows closed and stay away from the area.
From images shared online by the fire service, it appears the fire broke out in the showroom area of the huge facility and not the workshop.
Firefighters remained on the scene all day yesterday. In an update on their website, the fire service said one fire engine and aerial ladder was still on the scene at 6.30pm.
https://twitter.com/stevejhealey/status/1644173807832162304?s=20
John Rossen, area manager for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, warned residents to stray away in a video shared on social media platforms.
He said: ‘Through the night we’ve had a significant fire involving an industrial unit in Preston.
‘We’ve had a large number of resources here through the night, at its height, nine fire engines, two aerial ladder platforms and a large number of specialist resources.
‘My thanks go to all the firefighters who arrived quickly and worked very hard in arduous conditions. They’ve actually managed to suppress the fire and stop it from spreading.’
Firefighters from Fulwood, Preston, Penwortham, Bamber Bridge, Longridge, Darwen, Blackburn, Hyndburn, and Chorley attended the incident.
A drone team from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service also assisted ground crews.
In a statement issued to the media, Inchcape said: ‘We are very glad that all our colleagues and the wider community are safe, and no one was hurt in the fire that broke out at our Inchcape Jaguar Land Rover operation in Preston overnight.
‘We would like to thank the emergency services and the various support agencies for their hard work and dedication in helping contain the damage.
‘It is too early to speculate on exactly what happened, however we are working in conjunction with various experts to determine the cause.
‘As we work through this the business will be closed temporarily and we will of course support our team and communicate with our customers throughout this period.’
This is the second time in two years a major fire has broken out at a Jaguar Land Rover facility. In March 2021, a new Land Rover Defender went up in smoke inside Dick Lovett’s Jaguar Land Rover showroom.
The blaze was believed to have been caused while the car was being charged inside the showroom.
Picture: Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service
