Irony

West Sussex: A fire chief has told of his embarrassment after a station without a smoke alarm went up in flames. The building and a fire engine were destroyed in the blaze at Arundel Fire Station in West Sussex.

Neil Odin, southern area commander for West Sussex fire service said it showed it could happen to anyone. "Unfortunately, we had severe damage to our fire station, which is embarrassing," he told the BBC.

He said a brand new building would need a smoke alarm. But he added: "Automatic smoke detection wouldn't have made any difference."

Nobody was injured in the fire which was tackled by 30 firefighters in six fire engines from neighbouring towns.