A MASSIVE overnight fire on Tuesday (October 24) destroyed up to 35 cars in a compound on a business park near Wellington.

Two fire crews from Wellington along with others from Taunton, Bridgwater, and Torquay, in Devon, were mobilised to the incident on the Foxmoor Business Park, just off the M5 motorway junction 26, in West Buckland parish.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) started receiving emergency calls about the blaze at about 9.45 pm on Tuesday.

Initially, it was reported that ‘a couple of cars’ were on fire and the two Wellington pumps were immediately despatched.

But once they reached the scene the scale of the incident started to become clear and the firefighters reported ‘numerous vehicles’ were well alight in a ‘commercial compound’.

As the Wellington crews started tackling the blaze they called for help from a third appliance and also for a water bowser, which came from Taunton and Bridgwater, respectively.

Shortly afterwards, Taunton was asked to send a fourth pump and an aerial ladder to the scene as the number of vehicles involved was put at 15.

A second water carrier was then brought in from Torquay as the firefighters used two sets of breathing apparatus and a compressed air foam jet to try to prevent the blaze from escalating.

The fire was eventually put out early on Wednesday morning (October 25) using four sets of breathing apparatus in total, three attack jets, the aerial ladder platform, some small tools, and about 35 litres of compressed air foam. 

All 35 cars in the compound were completely damaged by the fire.

DSFR then handed the incident over to Avon and Somerset Constabulary officers to investigate.

The Wellington Weekly will bring more news on this incident as it becomes available.