Town mourns firefighters and father lost in Bicester Motion fire

There is an “outpouring of grief and shock” in the town where two firefighters and a man were killed in a fire at a business park, a councillor has said.

Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38, died while tackling the fire at Bicester Motion on Thursday evening. David Chester, 57, a father of two who ran a business at the site and lived in Bicester, was also killed.

Many observed a two-minute silence in the town’s Garth Park on Sunday and Bicester Town Council will open its book of condolence at Garth House from 09:00 BST on Monday.

Nicholas Mawer, who represents Bicester North on Cherwell District Council, told the BBC: “These people are the best of Bicester.”

Another two firefighters who suffered serious injuries remain in hospital, Thames Valley Police has said.

Mr Mawer, who attended a service at St Edburg’s Church on Sunday, added: “Thankfully these incidents are very rare but it’s deeply affected the community.

“You could tell how affected the people were and at the centre of this are the families of the people who we lost.”

He said town councillors were in early discussions regarding some kind of memorial for those who died, and that it would be further discussed in the annual town meeting later.

“I’m sure in the fullness of time we’ll bring forward a proposal that’s suitable,” he said.

Michael Brooker, a fire officer with Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and friend of Martyn Sadler, said the photo that had been distributed of Mr Sadler with a “big beaming smile – that was Martyn”.

“He always made sure we had fun,” he continued.

“It’s kind of surreal because the room would light up when he turned up, and he would just have this air of confidence that would say, ‘you know what, we’ve got this, we can do whatever we need to do’.

“He really did have a generous heart, he was a really amazing guy.”

Mr Brooker told the BBC that he and his colleagues “have cried together… we’ve laughed together again”.

“It’s not going to be easy the next couple of weeks, we know that, and we need to make sure we keep going,” he continued.

“We’re resilient people, we do hurt, but we do need to honour them and continue doing what they loved doing themselves.”

Ms Logan and Mr Sadler were involved in Bicester Rugby Union Football Club’s (BRUFC) women’s team, Bicester Vixens.

“We are a tight-knit club,” BRUFC’s chairman Paul Jaggers said.

“We are a family and it’s hit the club and the wider community very hard.

“Obviously losing two of your members in any situation is really tough and it’s had a profound impact.”

Both firefighters worked for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Mr Sadler was also part of the London Fire Brigade.

Mr Chester, who ran family business Chesters & Sons at Bicester Motion, joined the estate when it was bought 12 years ago and was described as “part of the fabric of our estate and a friend to us all”.

Historic England, which had worked with Mr Chester, said he had been a “valued partner” who it was a “privilege” to work alongside.

Fire investigators and Thames Valley Police are working to establish the cause of the blaze in what the police said was a “complex investigation which may take some time”.