FIREFIGHTERS took almost a day to put out a massive fire which destroyed the ski chalet at Wycombe Summit.

The blaze, at the ski and snowboarding centre in Abbey Barn Lane, ripped through the wooden building which houses a restaurant bar and offices.

A major operation was launched by firefighters at 11am on Tuesday to extinguish the blaze, involving eight fire engines and around 50 firefighters.

And although the fire was under control by Tuesday afternoon it continued burning into Wednesday morning because the building collapsed, making it difficult for firefighters to access the blaze.

They finished damping down at 4.50pm on Wednesday when Abbey Barn Lane, which had been closed since Tuesday, was reopened.

Nick Gemmell, 20, who is assistant bar manager at the centre, said he was shocked how quickly the fire spread.

He said: "I was upstairs in the office and could smell plastic burning. I rushed towards the kitchen and there was a fire at the back.

"We tried to put it out with the extinguishers but it was too much."

Officers say they believe the fire stemmed from a fat fryer gas leak in the restaurant kitchen which spread to the roof and engulfed the building.

The first and ground floor were destroyed but the basement, where ski equipment is kept, was saved.

The ski slopes were also saved from damage.

The fire couldn't have come at a worse time for the centre which was fully booked in the run-up to Christmas and New Year.

Staff were evacuated from the building and skiers were called off the slopes before the chalet went up.

They waited in the car park and at about midday there was a loud bang as a fire extinguisher exploded inside the building.

Efforts were further hampered during the operation because there are no water hydrants near the isolated site.

Firefighters had to use a hydrant at the bottom of the hill in Abbey Barn Road.

Daryl Keen, divisional fire officer, said: "If we had the water when we got here we would have been fine, but we didn't have it."

He added: "The problem with the roof was that there was a lot of insulation material on the inside which has accelerated the spread.

"Timbers on the outside also made the roof difficult to get to."

Bosses at the centre says they are looking to reopen as soon as possible.

It has a history of planning applications including several for a health and fitness centre to add to the existing skiing facilities there.