A report has been published by Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) over a car park fire at Luton Airport.

Fire broke out in Terminal Car Park 2 at Luton Airport on the evening of October 10th last year, in an incident that caused a partial collapse within the building and destroyed most of the over 1,300 cars parked in the facility.

The incident lead to four firefighters and an employee of an agency employed by Luton Airport requiring hospital treatment, although no members of the public were harmed.

In the aftermath of the incident, a multi-agency report lead by BFRS has concluded a sprinkler system would’ve helped to reduce the fire sooner and recommended the government is to carry out further research on car park design and fires in car parks.

The incident began at around 8:40pm on the night of October 10th, when a diesel Range Rover car entered the facility to park but where smoke was already coming through the vehicle.

In their findings, the investigation concluded the fire started through either an electrical fault or component failure within the engine bay of the vehicle whilst it was in motion.

The fire in the vehicle escalated by the time the driver had reached the third floor of the facility, when fire spread to other components in the vehicle, and whilst the owner of the vehicle attempted to fight the fire, the vehicle became overrun with flames and spread to other parked vehicles. The driver was the first person to call the fire service regarding the blaze.

By 9:40pm, the fire had been upgraded to being a major incident after spreading to most cars parked on the third floor, leading to the closure of the airport to air and road traffic and fire crews from across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire being called to help control the blaze.

The fire would ultimately be brought under control by 10am the following morning, with flights resuming at 3pm on the afternoon of October 11 2023.

The Terminal Car Park 2 facility had first opened in 2019, but the damage in the incident saw total collapse of floors in the site. The version of the site damaged in the fire did not have a fire sprinkler system in it’s design.

In the aftermath, the site has been demolished, with Luton Airport confirming they intend to build a new car park on the site.

BFRS stated that the report has identified areas for improvement, particularly in fire safety measures for multi-storey car parks. One of the conclusions drawn is that, “if there had been a suitable sprinkler system, it may have changed and delayed the fire spread.”

The service’s Chief Fire Officer Andy Hopkinson said in a statement, “Evidence derived from global research demonstrates the effectiveness of sprinklers in controlling fires in car parks, with property loss about 95 per cent lower than that of an uncontrolled fire. We will be using the learning from this incident to support the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) in lobbying for a change in national guidance and legislation to make the provision of automatic water suppression systems (AWSS), such as sprinklers, a requirement in multi-storey car parks.”

Councillor Jacqui Burnett, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority Chair, said in a statement that they had praise for how the fire department handled the challenge.

Cllr Burnett said, “The fire presented challenges, but I am incredibly proud of the rapid response and professionalism shown by our teams and our partners. The operation not only safeguarded the airport but also highlighted the strength of the Service’s multi-agency coordination. While our firefighters managed to contain and successfully extinguish the fire, reports like these are essential to ensure the Service learns and continues to improve its response in the future.”

Brackley Town will be present in the FA Cup First Round draw after a 1-1 draw away at Hartlepool United in the last FA Cup qualifying round.

A draw at Hartlepool’s Victoria Park means that both the Saints and their National League opponents will be in tomorrow’s (14/10) draw for the FA Cup First Round, which is scheduled to take place in early November.

The two sides will also have a quick turnaround to hold a replay to determine the place in the First Round.

Brackley will host Hartlepool at their St James Park ground on Tuesday (15/10), in a 7:45pm kick-off, with tickets now on sale from the club’s official website.

Last season’s National League North play-off runners-up had reached the Fourth Qualifying Round with two wins, beating Truro City 2-0 in Cornwall in their first qualifying round entered in mid-September and then recording a 4-1 home win over Ramsgate in late September.

In the North East against the National League side, Brackley had started brightly and lead through a goal just after the half-hour mark by George Carline.

But an 85th minute equaliser from former Newcastle and Crawley striker Adam Campbell would rescue a draw for the home side, and ensured a replay in Northamptonshire.

The FA Cup First Round draw will take place on Monday at Bradford City’s University of Bradford Stadium, with the draw being broadcast on BBC Two in the UK from 7pm.

If Brackley can reach the FA Cup First Round, it would be the sixth time in the club’s history and the first since the 2020/21 season.

Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 by the FA for a social media post claiming a referee supported Luton Town and made decisions against them based on this.

The fine is in relation to a post made on Nottingham Forest’s Twitter/X profile on April 21st after a 2-0 defeat by Everton in a Premier League game at Goodison Park.

During the game, Forest had three penalty appeals turned down, with both the on-field referee and VAR declining to give them.

The game saw Stuart Attwell as VAR, with Forest claiming he was a Luton Town supporter at a time when Forest and Luton were both battling against relegation from the Premier League and that this motivation was why penalties were not given in their favour.

The post, which is still on Forest’s X account, read, “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.

“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.

“NFFC will now consider its options.”

In a statement, the FA said, “Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 and warned for misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media after their Premier League game against Everton on Sunday 21 April.

“The club denied that the comments posted on social media imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or the video assistant referee and/or bring the game into disrepute.

“An independent Regulatory Commission found the charge to be proven following a hearing and imposed the club’s sanctions.”

The FA’s report said that former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg, who at the time was working for Forest as a referee advisor, had called the PGMOL’s Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb to question the appointment of Attwell, but had his concerns declined.

This call took place two days before the game, in which multiple penalty shouts did not go in Forest’s favour. A PGMOL panel later ruled that while the first two decisions were acceptable, a third decision when Ashley Young made a challenge in the box on Callum Hudson-Odoi was incorrectly deemed not a penalty and that either a penalty should have been given or VAR should have advised match referee Anthony Taylor to review the incident at a monitor.

The disciplinary commission ruled that with Forest unwilling to apologise or delete the original post, the club’s misconduct charge was proven. In the report, it is stated that the FA deemed the post as an, “egregious, direct and public attack on the integrity of a Match Official and, in turn, the game of football, on an unparalleled scale”.

The commission duly ruled against Forest, who had denied charges they had questioned the integrity of the officials. As a result, they have handed Forest the fine and a warning to their future conduct. The FA also rejected a request from Forest for the fine to be suspended.

Forest have said they intend to appeal the ruling. In their own statement, they said, “Nottingham Forest Football Club is extremely disappointed with the decision of the Regulatory Commission to impose a £750,000 fine in relation to comments posted on social media following our Premier League fixture against Everton on Sunday 21 April.

“We are particularly concerned that The FA, in its submissions, sought a sanction “in excess of £1,000,000”. We believe that this request, along with the subsequent fine, is wholly disproportionate and the Club will be appealing the decision.”

Previously, both Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo and player Neco Williams were fined for their own post-match comments made to media broadcasters after that game at Everton. Santo was fined £40,000, while Williams was fined £24,000.

Clattenburg left his position at Forest in May, with his decision to leave the club coming the day after Forest were originally charged by the FA for the offending post.

Scott Lindsey suffered a first defeat as MK Dons boss as they were beaten 1-0 by Port Vale at Stadium MK.

Substitute Antwoine Hackford scored the only goal of the game in the final quarter of an hour as Port Vale took a win that put the visitors top of the table after 11 games of the campaign.

MK Dons had two goals disallowed in the first half but a slower second half saw them cone unstuck against their high-flying guests from Staffordshire, in a result that sees them sit 15th in the League Two table. After 11 games, they are six points behind the top six.

The match at Stadium MK represented a test for the Dons. While they entered it unbeaten in their previous 4 league games, they had drawn three of those and were up against a Port Vale side whose strong recent form had seen them rise up to 6th in the table and win Darren Moore September’s Manager of the Month prize.

The game was an emotional one at Stadium MK as multiple tributes were paid in honour of George Baldock after the week’s tragic news that the 31-year-old former MK Dons player had passed away.

A minute’s silence was held before the game, while both sides wore black armbands and several of Baldock’s former MK Dons team-mates were in attendance to pay respects. Later on in the game, fans would hold a minute’s applause in the 31st minute for Baldock.

On the pitch, Vale had an early chance as Lorent Tolaj fired a strike wide after the home side lost possession, before goalkeeper Tom McGill repelled a strike by young full-back Jack Shorrock.

MK Dons slowly began to offer more in the game, and they would come close when Aaron Nemane cut inside and had a strike kept out by Connor Ripley.

The Dons then thought they had the lead when Liam Kelly’s pass played Tommy Leigh through, but an offside flag was raised before Leigh beat Ripley in a one-on-one to score.

A few moments later, Leigh would have another goal disallowed. The attacker had bundled in from Kelly’s corner, but the officials deemed he had used a hand to turn it past Ripley, and the goal was also ruled out.

As the game got closer to half-time, Port Vale began to have opportunities. Former AFC Wimbledon winger Ronan Curtis would have the two best ones, blasting one off target before seeing one denied by McGill. Tolaj would also see a strike deflected over as the visitors tried to find a first-half breakthrough.

After a slow start to the second half, the visitors created further chances. Connor Hall hit a fine volley narrowly off target, before captain Ben Garrity saw a deflected strike kept out by McGill.

MK Dons threw on strikers, giving recent free signing Scott Hogan his debut and Ellis Harrison a return, but the visitors still looked dangerous, with McGill having to make stops to deny Tolaj and Curtis in quick succession.

Ryan Croasdale hit the side-netting before Hall headed over at a free-kick a few moments later.

The Dons’ best chance in this period fell the way of Joe Tomlinson, who would see a strike hit the side-netting via a deflection.

With 13 minutes to go, Vale would find a way through. The visitors worked the ball out to Shorrock, whose cross would find Hackford in a prime position to flick the ball past McGill and score.

Hackford had the chance to put the game to bed when he was played through by Jayden Stockley only to be denied by McGill in a one-on-one.

MK Dons did have a few forward moments in the aftermath, with Alex Gilbey seeing a shot straight at Ripley before Connor Lemonhaigh-Evans would see a strike blocked by a defender and another by Ripley in the middle of a series of corners.

But MK Dons struggled to get going after that brief flurry, and they would end the game with no goal or points.

MK Dons: McGill – Tucker, Offord, Maguire – Nemane, Lemonhaigh-Evans, Kelly, Tomlinson – White (Hogan 59), Leigh (Harrison 68), Gilbey

Subs not used: MacGillivray, Lewington, Williams, Ilunga, Carroll

Booked: Maguire

Port Vale: Ripley – Debrah, Hall, Heneghan – Cover (Sang 68), Croasdale (Lowe 88), Garrity, Shorrock – Tolaj (Hackford 68), Stockley, Curtis (Richards 74)

Subs not used: Amos, Chislett, Lowe, Paton

Goal: Hackford (77)

Booked: Debrah, Richards, Stockley