Tributes to firefighters and member of public killed in huge blaze at ex-RAF base

Tributes have poured in for two firefighters and a member of the public who died in a huge blaze at a former RAF base in Oxfordshire.

- JABED AHMED ANDY GREGORY

Firefighters Jennie Logan, aged 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38, were both killed along with 57-year-old David Chester after a massive fire ripped through what is now the Bicester Motion business park at 6.30pm on Thursday.

Ten fire crews rushed to the inferno at the former RAF Bicester, where several businesses now restore classic cars and planes, and workers were evacuated from the scene, as neighbours reported multiple explosions and clouds of dense black smoke.

A close friend of Ms Logan, and a fellow firefighter, posted on social media that she had “begged” for the tragic news not to be about the 30-year-old. “I hoped it wasn’t true, I begged it wasn’t. I can dry my tears and remember you but I can never get you back. You were my rock and I didn’t even realise how much until you were gone.

“Who will I call names and laugh at for being silly? Who will laugh at me and say it right back? I’ve never met anyone like you Jen, it’s not fair. Life is cruel but now everyone can be proud of the hero that I saw, that I heard, that I hugged.”

Mr Sadler’s cousin David described the death of his family member as a “devastating loss”.

“Thank you to everyone for the overwhelming number of messages following the devastating loss of my cousin, colleague, role model and hero Martyn Sadler at the fire in Bicester last night,” he wrote on social media.

The Bicester Rugby Union Football Club, with which both Ms Logan and Mr Sadler were involved, said the presence of both firefighters would be “massively missed”.

“Our hearts and deepest condolences go out to their families, friends and our members at this terrible time,” they wrote.

The chair of Bicester Motion, home to more than 50 specialist businesses, described Mr Chester as being “part of the fabric of our estate and a friend to us all”.