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| Crews tackle washed-up wood fire | Crews tackle washed-up wood fire |
| (1 day later) | |
| A large fire in a stack of wood that was washed ashore on a West Sussex beach is being treated as arson. | A large fire in a stack of wood that was washed ashore on a West Sussex beach is being treated as arson. |
| Nearly 50 firefighters sent to Marine Parade, Worthing, at about 0230 GMT found the timber well alight. | Nearly 50 firefighters sent to Marine Parade, Worthing, at about 0230 GMT found the timber well alight. |
| There were fears the fire would spread to nearby wood piles and beach huts but crews were aided by an offshore breeze. | There were fears the fire would spread to nearby wood piles and beach huts but crews were aided by an offshore breeze. |
| The fire was contained to a 30m by 10m pile of timber washed ashore when the Ice Prince sank in the English Channel in January. | |
| Crews used seven firefighting jets to douse the flames and were helped by a contractor using a mechanical digger to break up the wood pile. | Crews used seven firefighting jets to douse the flames and were helped by a contractor using a mechanical digger to break up the wood pile. |
| It has tied up our resources for several hours when they could have been needed elsewhere Dave HowellsWest Sussex Fire Service | It has tied up our resources for several hours when they could have been needed elsewhere Dave HowellsWest Sussex Fire Service |
| Incident commander Dave Howells, from West Sussex Fire Service, condemned those responsible for the arson attack. | Incident commander Dave Howells, from West Sussex Fire Service, condemned those responsible for the arson attack. |
| He said the fire meant crews from outside the area had to be drafted in to deal with a house blaze in Worthing. | He said the fire meant crews from outside the area had to be drafted in to deal with a house blaze in Worthing. |
| "Although this might be seen as just a large bonfire on a beach, it has tied up our resources for several hours when they could have been needed elsewhere for a more life-threatening emergency." | "Although this might be seen as just a large bonfire on a beach, it has tied up our resources for several hours when they could have been needed elsewhere for a more life-threatening emergency." |
| Gary Towson, of West Sussex Fire Service, told the BBC the efforts of firefighters had also been helped because the washed-up timber had been split into separate piles. | Gary Towson, of West Sussex Fire Service, told the BBC the efforts of firefighters had also been helped because the washed-up timber had been split into separate piles. |
| "The council at a very early stage - when they were rescuing it [the timber] from the beach - broke it up into smaller piles just to prevent, you know, one huge bonfire on Worthing seafront." | "The council at a very early stage - when they were rescuing it [the timber] from the beach - broke it up into smaller piles just to prevent, you know, one huge bonfire on Worthing seafront." |
| Beaches along the Sussex coast from Ferring to Hastings were littered with 2,000 tonnes of timber when the Ice Prince sank off Dorset in January. | Beaches along the Sussex coast from Ferring to Hastings were littered with 2,000 tonnes of timber when the Ice Prince sank off Dorset in January. |
| Worthing was the worst affected, with wood covering large areas of the beach. | Worthing was the worst affected, with wood covering large areas of the beach. |