Bicester firefighter's family say 'she will always be our hero' as tributes flood in

A fire at Bicester Motion claimed the lives of firefighters Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38 as well as David Chester, 57 – a father-of-two who ran a business at the site

Two firefighters who perished in a horrific blaze at a business park have been dubbed heroes. The local community have opened up their hearts with numerous tributes for the two emergency workers.

Jennie Logan, 30, and Martyn Sadler, 38 tragically lost their lives while tackling the fire at Bicester Motion on Thursday evening. Alongside the two firefighters David Chester, 57 – a father-of-two who ran a business at the site and lived in Bicester – also lost his life in the blaze.

Two other firefighters – who suffered serious injuries from the fire – currently remain in hospital. Nicholas Mawer, who represents Bicester North on Cherwell District Council, has paid respects to the perished fire fighters and said: "These people are the best of Bicester."

Speaking at a Sunday service he said: "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 added. Mawer revealed councillors were in early discussions regarding some kind of memorial to remember those who perished and said: “I'm sure in the fullness of time we'll bring forward a proposal that's suitable."

Jennie Logan’s family released a statement with Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and penned a heart-breaking tribute for the firefighter.

“Jennie was a force to be reckoned with but to everyone who knew her, she was such a loving, caring, thoughtful person, who would do anything and everything to help,” the tribute read.

“She lived life at 100mph, juggling her business with her love for rugby, where she made some truly amazing friends.

“She will always be our hero and we are so immensely proud of her,” the tribute added.

“Forever in our hearts.”

Michael Brooker, a fellow fire officer, has opened up on the passing of his good friend Martyn Sadler – who perished in the blaze.

"He always made sure we had fun," Brooker said.

"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," Brooker added.

Maria Santambrogio, from Upper Heyford, knew Mr Sadler for about three years and was his dog groomer.

She also shared numerous heartfelt words and said: "He always mentioned how much he loved his job.

"All I can say is that he was a very lovely man and super kind. Everyone that knew him is definitely going to miss him," Santambrogio added.

The cause of the fire is currently being investigated by Thames Valley Police.

In a statement police force clarified: "We have now taken primacy for the incident and our Major Crime Unit is carrying out an unexplained death investigation. I want to reiterate that this is currently not a criminal investigation; however, we will follow the evidence as our enquiries continue.

“The building is currently being assessed by structural engineers to understand whether it is safe to allow our officers and partners to carry out examinations at the scene. We will be supported by the fire service in trying to establish the cause of the fire.

“I would like to thank all of our partners who have been involved in responding to this tragic incident,” the statement added.