FIREFIGHTERS yesterday lined the streets to honour a colleague killed tackling a deadly blaze in a hangar.
They laid their yellow helmets on the ground as Martyn Sadler’s ceremonial funeral procession passed by.
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The 38-year-old’s coffin, draped in the Union flag, was carried on a fire engine through Bicester, Oxon.
Hundreds of people watched in respectful silence while uniformed firefighters marched behind.
The cortège paused outside the town’s fire station, where crews stood for a minute’s silence.
His coffin, flanked by standard bearers from all fire services across the country, was brought into St Edburg’s church for a private service.
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Martyn was killed in a fire at the Bicester Motion site on May 15 alongside colleague Jennie Logan, 30, and businessman Dave Chester, 57.
Ten fire crews were called to tackle the blaze in a hangar reportedly being used to store vintage buses and other vehicles.
Two other firefighters sustained serious injuries in the blaze but have been discharged from hospital.
Thames Valley Police said post-mortem examinations suggested the three victims were killed by part of the structure collapsing. An inquest was adjourned until November 25.
The force’s major crime unit, the Health and Safety Executive and the fire service are investigating.
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On Tuesday, owners of the Bicester Motion business complex, set up on a former World War Two RAF bomber training station, announced that the fire-damaged Grade II-listed Hangar 79, would be demolished.
Work is expected to start next week.
In a tribute following his death, Martyn’s family said he was born to be a firefighter.
They added: “Coming from a fire service family, it was always in his blood, but it was significantly more than that with him, it was his life.”
He worked for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service but was also part of the London Fire Brigade.
A funeral procession for Jennie took place in June.
