This was the car which sparked the devastating fire at Luton Airport a year ago, pictured for the first time just minutes before the inferno ripped through the multi-storey car park, destroying more than 1,300 vehicles.
The red Range Rover Sport which burst into flames was a diesel, not, as suspected at the time, a hybrid or electric car, fire investigators have revealed, as they issued a new report into the incident on October 10, 2023.
A sprinkler system could have changed or limited the devastation caused by the fire, conclude the experts, and called for such measures to be made mandatory, even in open-sided car parks.
In an image taken from CCTV, the Range Rover can be seen entering the short term No 2 car park at 20:42 BST on the night of the fire.
Even then, the CCTV footage shows light coloured smoke coming from its engine.
At 20:47 the driver continued to the third floor when he stopped the car, exited, and called 999.
When first fire crews arrived at about 20:55 there were already multiple cars involved in the fire, estimated to be about three visible from outside the car park.
At 21:07 the group commander arrived and was told that at least six cars were ablaze.
The fire is described in the document as ‘one of the more significant incidents to occur within Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service’s (BFRS) area for many years’.
Because of wind blowing through the open-sided structure, the conflagration spread quickly, destroying 1,352 vehicles and caused the building’s partial collapse.
Investigators said although a sprinkler system was not mandatory for an open-sided multi-storey, it would have ‘changed and delayed the pattern of fire spread’.
The fire service said crews benefitted from having access to large water tanks on an adjacent airfield, and they were assisted by the Luton Airport Fire Service.
Investigators said: ‘Bedfordshire FRS has routinely promoted the installation of sprinkler systems into all buildings through the planning process since 2019 and during building regulation consultations since 2022.
‘However, the service cannot mandate sprinklers in open-sided multi-storey car parks similar to Terminal Car Park 2.
‘A change in guidance and legislation at a national level should be considered to make automatic fire suppression systems (such as sprinklers) mandatory in all new open-sided multi-storey car parks.’
The BFRS report stressed: ‘There is no evidence to demonstrate that the presence of electric vehicles parked in the car park had a detrimental impact on the outcome of the fire.’
The report added that quick-thinking fire crews on the scene ‘almost certainly saved lives’ by recognising early the warning signs of building collapse and evacuating the site.
Crews from Hertfordshire, London, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire also joined the operation.
The document praised those crews for successfully preventing the fire from spreading to nearby infrastructure such as the Luton Dart rail service or Car Park 1.
A man who was arrested after the fire will face no further action, police confirmed earlier this year.
The man, in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Bedfordshire Police said the investigation had concluded and it had passed the case to the fire service.