Places - Lost in Time: Summerland Centre, Isle of Man

Hello, and welcome again to Places - Lost in Time, a series that looks back on the tale of places and locations that have existing within living memory or photographic record, but are now lost to the pages of history.
At the suggestion of Stuart James, in Episode 6 we follow the life of the Summerland Centre, a leisure venue created on the Isle of Man to help reinvigorate tourism to declining British seaside resorts, but due to a plethora of design flaws, the structure was incredibly flammable, resulting in one of the worst building fires in UK history.
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated KZbinrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): [e-mail]
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
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Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Summerland Fire Disaster, Dr Ian Phillips (and his respective references)
- Historic UK (and their respective references)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)

[@babywithalaser2409]

My next door neighbour was working there at the time. His back was badly burned carrying kids to safety. He went back in to the blaze a few times by all accounts. He's been my neighbour for 25 years and his wife let his involvement slip a couple of years ago. I'd never heard of it till then.

[@kjammo66]

I remember watching that building burn within minutes.I was 7 years of age , on holiday in Douglas that very week.we spent a lot of time in the Summerland .we were all walking towards the building that evening and we all noticed smoke coming from the back of the summerland and within minutes the entire building was engulfed in fire.It was terrible and something I have never forgotten.

[@iankirk3537]

I arrived on holiday 2 days after the fire and we were awestruck as we passed the site on our way to Laxey.

[@bigdmac33]

You had a VERY narrow escape!

[@therespectedlex9794]

Does anyone remember enjoying themselves there?

[@justhannah3960]

@@therespectedlex9794 I spent a year on the island as a teenager in the 1990s, so long after the fire. But I remember the rebuilt Summerland. It was a dump, tbh. A concrete shell on the outside, rundown and seedy as hell on the inside. The island itself is very beautiful on the whole, though.

[@Clan501-Scotland]

Insurance

[@BorrieBeats]

The fire station was informed by....a taxi driver and a bloody boat. That is just unreal

[@christopherwalker9767]

Apparently the Fire Brigade attended the Bradford Football Stadium fire because they were watching the game on television - everyone at the site of the fire had made the assumption that someone else had called them as it was such a big fire.

[@BorrieBeats]

@@christopherwalker9767 literally the reason why in an incident everyone should contact the services.

[@prestoncheapbtheadphoneste3010]

What’s a “ bloody boat 🚤”?! 😕😐

[@NOway264]

One of the emercency exit's was blocked because the fire safety inspector of Summerland parked his car in front of the exit.

[@Andrew-Kerr]

I was 9 when this happened. Being an island resident, I'd already been to Summerland a few times and it was one of my favourite places. On the night of the fire, earlier on, I was at home near Port Erin with my Mum, Dad and 4yr old brother. My Dad worked shifts and was often working late in the evenings and I didn't see much of him, so as he had a few days off, he decided to take me out for some son/dad time, leaving my Mum at home with my brother. We were going to go to Summerland, but just missed the bus. The next one wasn't for an hour, so instead we decided to go to the cinema (long since closed) in Port Erin, hoping to watch a Bruce Lee movie. When we got to the cinema, the Bruce Lee movie wasn't showing (and it was age restricted anyway). Instead they were showing a movie called Peter and the Rabbit, based on the Beatrix Potter movies. We went in and started watching, but the movie was awful. Actors in animal suits dancing ballet style to music. Me and my Dad both hated it and we ended up walking out after less than half an hour. We debated going to Summerland after all, but it was an hour's journey away by bus and we'd barely have time to get there before having to come home, so we had to give up on the idea, write off the whole evening and begin walking home. On the way, we started hearing sirens and saw the Port Erin fire engine setting off somewhere in a hurry. My Dad got anxious on the off chance they were going to our house, but was relieved when they were obviously heading further north, but by then we could hear other sirens and realised something major was happening somewhere. We hurried home and when we got there my Mum was in bits as the news of the fire was already on the radio and last thing she knew, me and Dad had been heading off out to Summerland! We listened to the news reports in horror. I was too young to really take in how bad this really was, but I did know me and Dad had had a lucky escape that night. Unfortunately many other's didn't, including a close friend of my Liverpudlian Nan and 49 other poor souls. R.I.P. Frederick John Allen 60 Constance Atkins 46 William(“Billy”) Stuart Aves 18 Anne Barber 69 Allen Barker 20 James Hewitt Bramhall Bennett 43 Beryl Bennett 41 Thomas Brady 44 Catherine Brady 43 Mary Sarah Boyd 45 Mabel Alice Buckeldee 59 John Millar Carson 62 Richard Cheetham 52 Elizabeth Cheetham 52 June Cheetham 13 Frederick William Glayzer 49 Olive Bertha Glayzer 49 Andrea Margaret Glayzer 13 William Henry Goldsmith 62 Phoebe Goldsmith 60 William Robert Hamilton 30 Beryl Ann Hendrick 32 Anastasia Hughes 48 Marcia Hughes 58 Stanley Wyllie Kellet 37 Sean Terence Kelly 21 Keith Baldwin Maceachern 23 Hubert James Manning 46 Gladys Mary Manning 55 Elizabeth McKenzie 70 Betty Ann Moulds 34 Beverley Ann Moulds 12 Debra Jayne Moulds 10 Amanda Jean Moulds 10 Lorna Bryson Norton 35 Bernard Malcolm Ogden 41 Margaret O’Hara 41 Tracy O’Hara 10 Julie Panter 14 David Piper 17 Dennis Arthur Sandford 43 Elsie Stevens 68 Alexander (“Alex”) Gibson Stevenson 35 Jean (“Sheena”) Nichol Davis Stevenson 33 Jane Tallon 13 Annie Thistlewood 55 Kathleen Wilkinson 56 Gary Martin Williams 11 Frances Mary Allen 54 Allison Little 35

[@cleew8762]

I never knew this story. Wow.

[@TheAdge50]

Is that 4 members of the same family?, that poor family 😔

[@Gail1Marie]

@@TheAdge50 I know. And Debra and Amanda appear to be twins (both the same age). How would the family ever recover from such a loss?

[@benbhoy9641]

Was there in Douglas in July 1973.....along with mates from Glasgow..... Used to go to the Disco in the basement every night for 2 weeks ..... Frightening what happened .....God bless the souls who died ....RIP

[@georgestyer2153]

Hello Ben.... I , at the time was operating a discotheque business in the IOM. I has 3 discos running at the time, Atholville, Continential, Milnes Hotels. I had a DJ working for THF at Summerland. On that night I had to cover for the guy whose wife was in labour. 30 minutes before I had to go another DJ offered to cover. So I covered the Metrople Hotel. I was angry, livid, furious when it was discovered that the fire doors in the basement were chained...!!!! and... bodies found not burned but chocked by the fumes from the oroglass.# This has been and still at 80 years is my nightmare.....Worse....I had a daughter of 7 years a blond little girl...My wife was walking down Strand street with her when a lady came up put her arms around my little girl and said " I knew you would be alive I know its you" I was in the shop opposite and I sat on the steps of the Picture House cinema and comforted this woman until the police arrived. All sadness brought about failings in design, construction, corruption ans lack of care.......Sorry to go on but !!! RIP and bless those who perished.

[@maj0072]

@@georgestyer2153 Your not going on mate. What you saw and experienced add human feeling to this tragedy. I remember seeing this on the news as a young lad. Thank you for sharing your memories of this.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@georgestyer2153, I was not aware of this tragedy till I learned about it today on Fascinating Horror. However, it reminded me of the Grenfell fire. As an American, I was bothered by the fact that the company that made the cladding involved in the said fire is not permitted to sell it domestically due to its high combustibility; however, at the time of the Grenfell fire, allowed to export it and many EU nations (I am aware that the UK is no longer part of the EU) permitted it to imported and sold in their countries.

[@chriswilkin2112]

In the event of fire, please wait patiently for the windows to melt, ignore the rain of red hot perspex, then simply wade through the molten plastic puddle to safety. What planet was that guy on??? 😖😖😖😖

[@redram5150]

That crossed my mind as well “Is it safe?” “Oh yea! It will melt and fall from its frame” “But what happens up until that point?” “Umm... uhh...?”

[@kaitlyn__L]

“Don’t worry, it’ll soften and fall off” Then when it actually happens to such a huge wall: giant rain of molten, on-fire plastic oh

[@1258-Eckhart]

But if that's what the architect says, that's also the last word on the subject. As a building control officer, you request whatever certification the architect will provide you with as to fire safety, structural stability (etc.) and move on. Stopping the planning process whilst asking for better documentation will get you into difficulties from your political masters and cause vilification of your employer in the local press. Who needs that? The planning system works only by default, not by design.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@1258-Eckhart very true

[@ianchristie3995]

You echoed my thought exactly.

[@TheGingerHutchy]

Growing up on the island you heard stories of what happened but never saw footage or information about how it was able to happen. The building was basically a bonfire waiting for a match. How these materials were allowed to be used until very recently is scary.

[@matty6848]

I know it’s crazy to think they were so reckless with the materials they used!

[@hobog]

Yeah, Grenfell happening hurts my hope for building code enforcement in UK's equitable building

[@matthewsmith2787]

I am surprised the building didn’t have asbestos materials for fire proofing being a 70s build

[@tomhumphries912]

I remember going to a leisure centre/swimming pool in Milton Keynes that had the same style of plastic triangular window

[@98Tabster]

The Silence of Summerland

[@tomhaskett5161]

The worst detail was the fire exits being locked and chained up to prevent people coming in without paying. Some jobsworth manager, I guess.

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

Whenever it is a mass disaster, that is always the case. Fire exits blocked to prevent people coming in/leaving without paying. Always, always.

[@yellowbelly06]

And some things never change - locked/blocked fire exits were pivotal in the fatal fires at the Woolworths store, Manchester in 1979 and the Starlight club, Dublin in 1981.

[@RW-nr6bh]

@@yellowbelly06 Bradford City in 1985, there were locked exits to the stand too

[@ikarus_incarnate]

All these people bemoaning the fact that Brighton is used in this film are obviously forgetting that there was also a really nasty fire here too, the narrator of this film was probably going to draw some parallels but it was edited from the dialogue. Why are so many people SO quick to judge and berate? This was a very informative film discussing an awful tragedy that sadly had little effect on later fire regulations... Thank you for your upload.

[@julierobinson3633]

I suspect it was more a case of simply finding appropriate era 'British seaside footage', which happened to be of Brighton. Which fire in Brighton are you referring to which has parallels to Summerland?

[@Zveebo]

Hmm, which one of all these massively flammable material shall we use? How about all of them. Great video about a terrible disaster I was not aware of.

[@ram64man]

Don’t worry the asbestos will stop any fire........

[@matty6848]

I wasn’t either until I watched this.

[@thornbird6768]

Me neither !!

[@johnwheelhouse6254]

I was on holiday there in the July summer of 1973, and as a young apprentice joiner at the time, and I was really confused with the construction . ( not being familiar with any building regs at all) I could still see the structure was questionable. How the officials could sign this building off as fit for purpose is criminal and terrifying.

[@missg3188]

I find it very disappointing for the relatives of the victims,that they never got the closure they deserved because not 1 single person,corporation or otherwise were ever held accountable. 'Accidents' don't just happen. Theirs always a reason for everything that happens in this world and therefore someone is responsible for this disaster.

[@bm7760]

This sort of thing continues to this day. During the Christchurch earthquake the CTV building pancaked killing nearly 100 people. The chief engineer of the build was found to have forged his qualifications but has never faced charges. You wonder how many other public buildings are similarly compromised.

[@missg3188]

@@bm7760 that's very disturbing to hear. That man you speak of,should have been charged with fraud and manslaughter!

[@horrortackleharry]

I would say that the IOM 'Chief Fire Officer' took an unacceptably passive role for such an important public building. "I wasn't informed of this... I wasn't informed of that..." certainly doesn't cut it. Of course, good old 1970s brown envelope corruption may have been involved.....

[@Roo986]

The IoM MO.

[@ogreking2175]

Brown envelopes are alive and well. There’s always a hand out somewhere.

[@catherinesyme901]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@matty6848]

Yes spot on. Corruption was rife back then in all walks of life.

[@stephenellison1]

@@matty6848 as it is now.

[@peadarocolmain4850]

It's just incredible that they were allowed to use that rubbish on an important building. ..... and then they locked the doors. It happened over here in Dublin on Valentine's day 1981. The startdust nightclub fire, 48 dead ... again the exits were locked.

[@limeyfox]

When Grenfell happened, by coincidence it was only a short while after I’d first read about the Summerland disaster. The similarities were shockingly obvious.

[@smac4749]

Really good vid on a largely “forgotten” disaster. It’s a perfect example of how disasters occur, with seemingly innocuous mistakes and oversights joining together to lead to the tragedy. Dr Phillips’ work on this is excellent, glad to see you used his research as a basis for this. 👍

[@petitkruger2175]

yh never knew about this until this video

[@Roo986]

@@malcolmgerald If only that was true, Grenfell?

[@pleasantville4529]

@@Roo986 Trust me Roo. The people responsible for Grenfell are going to jail. Times have changed since the fire at Summerland.

[@Roo986]

@@pleasantville4529 I hope you are right, what points you in that direction?

[@davidelliott5843]

Grenfel Tower was the work of extreme (if not criminal) neglect. This IOM leisure centre was build to burn down. Absolute criminal behaviour by all involved.

[@Firebrand55]

Concise, no-nonsense reporting that puts UK media to shame ...well done Ruairidh.......if that kiosk had only been over by the wall....

[@andrewoverton5170]

Anyone who is familiar with the Isle of Man will not be in the slightest bit surprised that no-one involved with the design and certification of this building in the island was deemed to be at fault.

[@robert3302]

Would you say it is corruption, or just plain incompetence? It seems like the people involved had the best intentions, but simply did not know what they were doing.

[@matty6848]

@@robert3302 probably abbot of both I imagine?

[@bm7760]

The Isle of Man feels like it's run by an old boys' club. It's a pretty sinister place with punishment handed down seemingly arbitrarily like something reminiscent of a medieval court.

[@1979davewild]

Big public buildings like that are done by UK contractors because there are no Manx contractors with the resources or finances for a large project like summer land so yes largely it was contract management that should have been to blame. Also I think the UK as a whole changed fire regulations after the disaster

[@johno4521]

And to go to the lengths of trying and fining the kids who accidentally started it...like they were looking for scapegoats.

[@charliebowman1221]

Wow I’m 17 and from the Isle of Man I had always heard about summerland but didn’t realise how huge it was. What’s a eye opener thanks for the upload !

[@yellowbelly06]

One of the saddest things about this fire is how rapidly it became forgotten in the public consciousness, compared with other disasters. I think partly this is due to its’ location (the IOM rarely figuring on mainlanders’ radar screens) and the simple fact that such a building would never have been built anywhere in the U.K. as fire regulations would have prevented it and as such there is an element of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Given the scale of destruction and loss of life this is on a par with the fires at Bradford and Grenfell but nowhere near as well-known.

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was 19 years old at the time.

[@MajorKlanga]

Fascinating. Of course it's pure speculation but the decision making process sounds like classic corruption involving nods, winks, brown paper envelopes and masonic handshakes.

[@glaticstorm32]

I'm an Architectural Technologist... Fire safety in the UK is still poor but is getting better, the problem is that a lot of buildings were built with flammable materials because they were deemed safe to use at the time. As technology has improved we have invented and produced less flammable materials that burn slower and release less toxic smoke. However if these materials aren't used in the correct way the still present a huge risk. for example fire baffles and breaks should be used on buildings with flammable cladding, on Grenfell there wasn't any also sprinkler systems should be used on high rise structures which again weren't present at Grenfell. Buildings will always and forever catch fire, its impossible to prevent but if we stop cutting comers and design properly then we can save lives.

[@theleastofpilgrims3379]

Indeed, even if we could build a structure that was highly fire resistant, there is a risk of ignition from pyrophoric chemicals.

[@cass276]

As part of our training as in house fire team members for Reeds Corrugated Cases Wigan, we were shown an aftermath video of this disaster To say that it was shocking is an understatement. as was mentioned some of the emergency exits were chained shut, and there were piles of bodies, all charred black and stuck together by the heat. We were told that a fire in our factory would be similar in speed and ferocity because of the nature of the raw materials we used (mainly paper, cardboard, wood etc) It was certainly a sobering video, and now nearly 50 years later, one I have never forgotten. Regards Chris

[@theowdgit9790]

Remember those internal doors they sold back then wood frame and that orangyred perspex type stuff in the centre, sister moved into their new house and it still had the same door.

[@Gail1Marie]

I worked for a NASA contractor; NASA had a "safety day" every year. Everyone was required to actually use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire (you aim at the BASE of the fire, not the flames). Hands-on training is best if you want people to react promptly in an emergency. Practice really does make perfect.

[@GrumpyL5]

Remember it well. A particular problem where parents and children were completely separated in a building. Some brave people threw children from the play area to others who stayed risking their lives to save them, others were on the overhead stairs despite the flames to get the children out. You read the report into the fire, the mistakes and incompetence. No way was was it Misadventure. Should be new inquests as with Hillsborough.

[@stuarthall6631]

Although only a schoolboy at the time of this, I can well remember a very gruesome photograph upon the front page of the Daily Mail showing the silhouette of a burnt, dead body up in the roof structure. If still available, it was probably felt tasteless to reproduce this here. It does, however, show how journalism has changed.

[@levi501ize]

o aye . i was 13 years old then, and badgered me owl fella to go there that night. we had been at agriculture show that day, and ended up in peel, at the craig hotel instead. my cousin was one of the firemen there. and could not speak of it for years after.

[@studebaker4217]

Excellent video report, lots of new material including the later re-use problems. Local authorities have a notorious reputation for projects like this.

[@tracyyy99]

What is more upsetting about this Disaster is that it is unknown, and is forgotten. I'm so happy it will never be forgotten, Thanks to vids like this one. Dr Ian Philips report on this subject is riveting reading.

[@kek7320]

Not forgotten by Manx people

[@tracyyy99]

@@kek7320 Thankfully...But you will really struggle to find any mention of it outside of IOM..Try finding any book with it recorded as a major fire disaster which it was since WW2...No malice intent to any of the Manx people was intended.

[@jonathantatler]

Short of adding an accelerant they built a veritable firework

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

There was an accelerant. The 3 blokes who were smoking.

[@dracodominus2800]

@@chaosdemonwolf1 that's not what an accelerant is/does. They would have been the trigger. You could probably equate them as the fuse or something, but not the accelerant.

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

@@chaosdemonwolf1 no

[@steve1978ger]

highly combustible paneling will do that

[@rhodacostain1938]

I grew up on the Isle of Man the aqua drome was still open when I was a child we used to go swimming there with my primary school, everyone grew up knowing the story of all the people who lost there lives especially children at summer land, they rebuilt part that had burned down but there were always rumours of hauntings upstairs in Manx land and around the back of the stage. It’s all knocked down now there should be a memorial on the site for all those poor soles who lost their lives 😔 such a tragedy

[@TorkG8]

I also remember Summerland as a child. We holidayed there in June 72 and June 73. I have lots of fond memories of the Isle of Man.

[@TorkG8]

Actually there is a memorial for those who lost their lives that day, it names every one of them.

[@DrivermanO]

Bearing in mind the number of people in the building and the speed of the fire spread, 50 deaths is remarkably low. When I reached the part about the 2000 people at an event plus the separated children I imagined that the death toll would have been in hundreds. Grenfell was over 70.

[@kek7320]

Mainly thanks to the manx fire service

[@AltheFolker]

Yup, health and safety's annoying, but here's a reason to have it! Really interesting video; I'd not heard of it before. Thanks!

[@HIDLampDashcam]

Health and Safety is a good thing until it takes over from common sense.

[@1882osr]

@@HIDLampDashcam In theory that sounds great, in practice though pushes back against regulation in defence of 'common sense' are more often than not just attempts to avoid expensive regulations which are there for a reason.

[@HIDLampDashcam]

I'm not saying it should be used as a copout, what I'm saying it should be used in conjunction with. Such as not being forced to wear hi-viz, hat, boots, gloves and goggles when it's hot. In those situation you end up with hot, fatigued workers, at risk of heat-stroke, who try and rush jobs to get them done fast, compromising quality and safety of the finished product. I did a job in a plant that bottled & canned an popular alcohol beverage, I was forced to wear all the above and combined with the fumes from the drink my concentration was as good as what it should have been.

[@1882osr]

@@HIDLampDashcam ah I totally get that. Think we may have been talking about slightly different things. When rules don't reflect the reality on the ground then absolutely, I was more talking about when it's used as an overarching narrative by news media, politicians and lobbyists tbh. My bad.

[@duncanedwards7840]

@@HIDLampDashcam 👏

[@full_time_motorhome]

Was in the pool in 1978. As a young kid I had no idea about this tragedy. Thanks for bringing the story out again. Tragic.

[@eslm-studios2996]

As someone from the Isle of Man, I've always wondered what happened to the Summerland Centre. I had heard about the fire, but I never thought it was this devastating.

[@1951GL]

Vaguely remembered this - horrifying detail. Mind you, in the 50s and 60s architects were all for "new" materials. Cathedrals like Coventry and Liverpool RC had major issues long after completion. I am amazed only 50 died. The moral of the story is that in building construction there is usually a good reason for any material being "cheap".

[@kaitlyn__L]

I see a lot of annoyance from people new to architecture and construction, over how unwilling their bosses are to convert to new lower carbon materials, but you can understand why their bosses want to see detailed reports on how these materials respond to a huge variety of situations before they’ll commit to their use on any major project.

[@jimtaylor294]

@@kaitlyn__L Aye. The new people should have to sit through a controlled house burn; to see what a screwup by them could result in happening for real.

[@freespeechisneverwrong9351]

The same old argument “builders doing it cheap” is not always the case. Architects are sold the idea of products that make their building different/stand out. This is often the case for different materials being used. Also if we built buildings so perfect we wouldn’t build as the cost would be prohibitive. Many people are also extremely good at revisionism and looking at things from a modern context. It is events like this, the Stardust night club (Dublin 1981) and Kings Cross Tube (London 1987) that have now informed the industry. These events have led to the protection of life being the key aim in the event of a fire. As for Grenfell the fire brigade stopped residents escaping the building which they would have done through a protected staircase. Beyond this there were engineering issues but IMO the actions of the fire brigade caused the majority of the deaths. The inquiry continues. As for this tragedy the main issue was the absence of sprinklers which the Engineer should have insisted upon. Whether it was rejected on the basis of cost or not installed due to ignorance may never be known. As I said the Codes of Practice and regulations in the UK are now primarily aimed at protecting human life. In the 70’s this was not the case.

[@realfingertrouble]

@@freespeechisneverwrong9351 TL;DR. reasons of cost, and also basically misleading/not telling the Fire Officer on the safety or use of the materials, and what should be criminal neglect and manslaughter by the architects and the Corporation but hey. No-one is ever responsible.

[@mr.145]

I remember going for baths in the place that replaced Summerland,circa 1978 to 81, on camping trips,it was really good.It was normal to go to guest houses in them days,and be allocated 1 bath night per person on a weeks stay.prior to the en suite era.

[@duncanedwards7840]

That's ridiculous 😯

[@paulprescott7913]

An exceptionally well written and narrated video on Summerland. I remember this very well. And have been visiting the island for many year's. You can certainly see why modern building regulations are so strict. And its rather shocking to look back at the materials used to construct it and lack cohesion with the fire service during construction.

[@JohnSmith-hy5gi]

I grew up on the island and one thing i cant forget is my mother telling me about when she worked as a nurse at nobles at the time and the state of the people when brought to the hospital, horrifying.

[@ianhjan]

If you go past Douglas Fire station you will see some of the best fire fighting kit anywhere in the UK. Lessons where learned, and the Manx nation is determined to make Summerland the last fire of it's type on the island.

[@levi501ize]

aye . seem to remember douglas fire station in them days was at john street, back of town hall ridgeway street. my cousin was a fireman in doolish. and had the old fire alarm call bell fitted in the house operated from fire station. then around 1976 the new one was built and still there today.

[@nevillemason6791]

The Isle of Man might now have much better fire fighting equipment but I doubt that any amount of equipment available would have made a difference when it was the building design that was at fault and parents rushing around trying to find their kids instead of speedily evacuating the building. Lessons have not definitely been learnt regarding building design on the Isle of Man. In 2013 the relatively new Mount Murray Hotel was nearly entirely destroyed by fire. The fire spread around most of the roof of the extensive two storey building. It should have been split into small compartments thus confining the fire to only a small area. No sprinkler system seems to have been installed which would have extinguished a small fire before it developed. Slack Manx building regulations at the least.

[@HubbaHubba64]

Oroglas admitted its product was flamable but it was still used , but with the cladding used on Grenfell the French makers used false documentation that said its products were safe .

[@ericgrace9995]

My mother and father were on the Island, and the fire happened on their last night in Douglas. It was a stressful night, as in pre mobile, days all the phone lines to Douglas were engaged. I didn't hear from them until they were on their way back to Liverpool. They didn't think there was anything to worry about !

[@levi501ize]

yes we was in peel, and do remember all the phones jammed completely that night.

[@aakeister]

I remember watching this on the news at the tine. Never forget the picture of it burning and the shadows of peopke running inside

[@carolynellis387]

I worked there on the holiday job, but left a week before it went on fire. Lots to say best left unsaid.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Did they genuinely say, that one of the fire escapes was the walls because they melt!

[@duncanedwards7840]

I know ! I think they did ! 😲 What the fk.

[@jakebullet1731]

Just like the Simpsons, the fire escape was painted onto the wall !

[@isaacsrandomvideos667]

Seriously?

[@orlaoto5794]

'...on the basis that it would theoretically melt and fall out of the frames, allowing escape'. I did a double take at that myself!

[@tjwilliams7566]

That’s what I thought

[@macstyle2012]

I remember visiting Summerland, must have been around 1977/8. All i can remember is loads of indoor tropical planta and trees. Went back in August 2001.

[@inconsolablegraphite2126]

A nice concise video on a tragedy with has faded from memory now, and the mistakes we seem to be intent on repeating. I'm of Manx descent and was on the island when this happened as a 13 year old. We were several miles away, out for an evening walk and completely unaware of what was actually happening. We could just see a pall of black smoke. My mum jokingly remarked that it looked like someone was burning a load of old plastic... I've never forgotten it, and the grim blackened skeleton remained for several years afterwards as a rather chilling reminder. When pictures of the Grenfell Tower blaze began to emerge I could hardly believe the similarity to the images of Summerland from 44 years earlier. 'Surely not. They haven't have they?' But they had, and like Summerland, everyone involved seems to be intent on passing the buck for what happened.

[@pentuplove6542]

We went to Summerland in the early 1980s. Was Expecting a fun nostalgic video. The corruption to allow this to be built is shocking.

[@Min-xm8tp]

Sounds like no mistakes were made, just a load of Officials giving out back-handers to mates. Still....there was probably some ponce of a Politician somewhere dragging out that old faithful line of 'Lessons will be learnt' garbage!

[@HIDLampDashcam]

Yet they evidently weren't as seen with Grenfell having basically the same cladding

[@unklejon4690]

I was on my honeymoon in Douglas at the time - so two disasters in the same place same week

[@M124M]

Love it😊😊

[@btothet3377]

Poor fella

[@captainboing]

Wow, I never heard of this. Thanks

[@silverliteway]

2:00 “Designed to reignite” is an interesting choice of words - although apt also ironic.

[@gearjammer3688]

Fire is unbelievable in its speed. Smoke is so hot it starts more fires ahead of the main fire.

[@Gail1Marie]

A fire doubles in size every minute. Just five minutes turns a small fire into a conflagration.

[@keithdavidson4723]

Aged 8 my parents took me and my younger brother to Summerland and we’d never seen anything like it. Until watching this video I’d no idea it had only opened the previous month. I remember seeing the pictures of the terrible disaster just 2 years later....very, very sad.

[@llessibm]

I must have been 12 or 13 when we went on a family holiday to the Isle of Man and we spent a day at the Summerland Centre - it wasn’t long after when the fire happened, all the more shocking as we’d been in the place not long before.

[@Boksburg1982]

It is incomprehensible that no one in any position of responsibility was held to account for this disaster.

[@laurencefraser]

Not really. Most of them did their jobs properly, after all. And corporations were involved, by the sounds of it. Combine that with political expedience discouraging the creation of long, drawn out scandals (unless you can be sure only your enemies will get caught up in them, of course) and it's easy enough to see how it would play out.

[@almcdincanterbury4762]

This fire was attributed to the materials used in 1970’s yet the same material still in place on Greenfell Tower 50 years later for a near identical inferno? But no one was blameworthy in 1970 for the disaster so the investigation stopped right there?

[@dmv5552]

Another great video about a disaster that proves there's nothing new under the sun. Locked exit doors were technically banned after the Victoria Hall disaster in Sunderland, 1883. The architects should really have checked rather more carefully about the flammability of the components (one might have been allowable but all of them!!); and why was no-one keen to have a chat with the fire officer? I remember when this happened it was horrific watching it all on TV.

[@robert3302]

That was a huge factor in the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston in 1942. This is common to a lot of nightclub and theater fires. Exits are blocked or locked to keep people from cutting out without paying their tabs. Also the gates on the stairs in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago were chained shut to keep people in the balcony seats from sneaking down to the orchestra. Also, the gates to keep second and third class passengers on the Titanic from sneaking up to First Class. Must public fire codes now require open access to all exits and stairs when people are in the building, but still it happens.

[@cliffcook3993]

The victoria hall fire led to the invention of the push bar to open door lock

[@agrarianrevolution1259]

Architects are rarely held to account for their failures.

[@Britishdave09]

Architects are basically art designers. Its civil engineers that are responsible for the structural elements of a building.

[@DarrenBates]

Epic video Ruairidh. Sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach watching this especially at the thoughts of terrified parents struggling to get to the floor where the kids where. Amazed that the fire was so fast burning, must've went up like tissue paper. Lesson here (and with Grenfell) is to just make everything as fireproof as possible.

[@jimtaylor294]

Aye. The tragic thing is that even Georgian era building standards were / are more fire resistant than this, which given that resisting fire was taken seriously in the latter era (due to the mostly wooden housing of prior eras burning with gay abandon) should illustrate that making a building highly resistant to fire is not a high tech' issue.

[@duncanedwards7840]

Well said 👏

[@matthewsmith2787]

Fire regulations are very poor in the UK

[@jimtaylor294]

^ Relative to whom?. And for that matter; how so? (never make a sweeping statement without expecting others asking for elaboration)

[@tsr207]

As a family we visited Summerland - I thought it was wonderful (I was a small boy) - my father looked at the curtains running the length of the walls (from the roof as I recall) - and said "never coming here again" - the fire occurred the next year. Loved the island and its people when I visited RIP to the victims.

[@TorkG8]

Same. I was a young girl. I remember the Isle of Man being a magical place! Summerland, Port Soderick, Laxey Wheel, also the water powered carousel in Silverdale Glen.

[@PurityVendetta]

We never seem to learn from any of these disasters. I'm afraid, knowing how dreadful the politics involved in these things are I'm having to consider that this was the result of corruption rather than incompetence. I'm going to admit I'd never heard about Summerland and the fire. Thanks for the informative video.

[@mikemidulster]

Yes, but if we blame disasters like this on corruption, we are inviting more of them to occur. These are not just limited to incidents like Grenfell, but also to the latest avoidable loss of life due to the handling of the current pandemic. The profit motive (Capitalism) is the common denominator in all of these cases, and while we choose to allow our lives to be dictated by this, we will continue to see more needless loss of life.

[@PurityVendetta]

@@mikemidulster This was exactly the point I thought I was making. The politics of the present day right are so invested in the neo liberal, laissez-faire, profit over everything are responsible for pretty much all of the avoidable ills of our modern society and culture. These are lessons 'we' should have learned by now but to paraphrase George Santiago 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it'.

[@maxflight777]

So important that we learn from these disasters. I still witness, locked or blocked fire escapes on my travels now, across the world. Most recently in Jamaica and India.😡

[@Tom_Bee_]

These narrations are so clearly written and delivered. Thank you.

[@lapiswake6583]

Almost 4 years on from Grenfell, and the UK government has done next to nothing about replacing the cladding on other similarly clad buildings throughout the country...

[@mrb.5610]

It's not bloody rocket science ffs. You don't make buildings out of things that burn unless you want people to die.

[@jimtaylor294]

Smaller fires in tower blocks have been a thing for years. Every gov' since the '70's is at fault for letting such low standards continue. In a saner world; Grenfell would niether have had undocumented residents, nor still been existing at all; as the carbuncle was a deathtrap by design. (only one stairwell with an overcomplicated route to the ground, no sprinklers, shoddy build quality, missing fire doors... and yet only the budget cladding got any notice -_- )

[@mrb.5610]

@@jimtaylor294 Years of lax council maintenance certainly didn't help - the report on the Lakanal fire in South London makes that clear. But the whole fire safety issue is lax when it comes down to it - I'm currently doing up my flat to rent and as it's on the second story, I have to fit internal fire doors, fire glass for the fanlights, hardwood glazing bars, you name it. And I'm only doing that because the old ones needed replacing because they weren't in the best cosmetic shape - it would have been quite legal to have kept them even though they're not fire doors ....there's no requirement to upgrade 'historic' internal fittings. But what gets me is that i don't have to provide a certificate to anyone to say that the new doors are certified and safe ... I'll need gas and electrical safety checks, but there's absolutely no requirement for a fire safety check. All it needs is a smoke detector and it's ready to go .....

[@jimtaylor294]

@@mrb.5610 Doesn't surprise me at all; councils are the worst bodies for looking after housing stock; be it ordinary suburbia or tower's. It's in part why I refuse to ever reside in a multi storey flat; and why I prefer to do as much of the mantainance and safety checks on my home as possible (obviously aspects like gas safety are for the professionals; but fire safety is something every home resident / owner should know and be proficent in).

[@mrb.5610]

@@jimtaylor294 I am glad my flat is an earlier 1950s one ... the stairwell is quite wide and open with only 2 flats per landing - it's not like the later tower blocks with unlit cramped corridors leading to a maze of multiple flats. So I think I'm reasonably safe - certainly better than my ex's place - a Victorian house with lots of wood, the doors didn't close properly, an open fire in the living room .... and believe it or not, *no* smoke alarms. I changed that within a month as I wasn't happy spending the night there without a couple fitted !

[@felixcat9318]

I was taken to Summerland by my uncle and was very impressed with it (from the perspective of a child) and had a really nice afternoon. I was back home when the news broadcast footage of it in flames and was really shocked by what I saw. It didn't seem possible that such a huge, modern and new centre could be so remarkably dangerous to the people that visited it. As children, we never thought about the safety of the buildings or venues we visited, only about what we'd gone there to do. I also remember Aberfan, seeing it on the news after coming home from school, that too was something that seemed impossible to my young mind.

[@SlimJ1980-Eire]

We holidayed on the Isle of Man in 1987 and I remember the inside of the rebuild (I guess?) It had a climbing style indoor kids playground and the usual stage shows, bingo, arcade and kids Butlins type entertainment. It was still somewhere all local holidaymakers seemed to spend evenings. As a 7yr old kid obviously never knew it's history. Am sure my parents did though . What a tragic tale . Reminds me of the Stardust disco disaster in Ireland around the same era.

[@elizabethg9346]

I live in the Isle of Man and the tragedy has left an indelible impact on the Island.

[@M124M]

Sad the site has not been redeveloped in some way

[@mrdiavel4807]

If anyone knows how the Isle of Man operates you won’t be surprised no one was held accountable .

[@tba8241]

Strange folk,stranger Island

[@mrdiavel4807]

@@tba8241 or as Ken Dodd commented ...”78,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock!”

[@nevillemason6791]

The relatively new Mount Murray Hotel burnt down in 2013 so I fear little has changed in 50 years regarding Manx building regulations.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@nevillemason6791 Manx? Is that Brit slang?

[@georgestyer2153]

@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 No Manx is the correct name for a person born in the IOM

[@christopherflack7629]

Thank you very much for this. As someone who was born on the Isle of Man and lived there for over a decade it was extremely interesting seeing the earlier footage.

[@pomerau]

I had no idea exactly what Summerland was. My older sister had come back to Ireland from there some weeks earlier. I don't know how it was reported in the news at the time. I was 14. Thanks for this.

[@whiskywhippet]

I loved going there when on holiday in 1972, and was on the Island when the fire occurred in ‘73. I remember the Peel fire engine heading off towards Douglas. Poor people who perished, and a rather shameful series of design decisions.

[@elton1981]

Thanks for the video Ruairidh. I had heard of this fire before, but never any detail. Never knew it was a disaster waiting to happen.

[@gailcollins2397]

My parents were on holiday there at the time with my brother . They rang home to let us know they were ok and we hadn’t heard anything was happening until they phoned

[@ianhjan]

That night will never be lost on me, I would be 16 or 17. It went up very violently, and was engulfed in flame in no time. How anyone got out of that inferno is beyond me. I went up to Summerland a couple of days after the fire. The massive steel beams in the framework where bent and twisted like paper. I will never forget this disaster.

[@levi501ize]

yes i know it is haunting . the doolish fire station in them days was at john street back ridgeway street. i was 13 at the time and my cousin was one of the fire men there. . remember the fire men had big call bells in thier houses from the station.

[@Queen-of-Swords]

This was the year after I was born, and I am surprised I never heard aout it. How awful. And so horribly typical of councils both then and now to do everything on the cheap for the proles. Thanks for the video, very interesting.

[@minijms1]

Very informative, I went there as a child on a school trip, I remember an orange roof, not much else. I also remember the fire on the news.

[@andyr1426]

Very well put together piece, thank you.

[@lewiscarty5517]

Watching on how this entertainment holiday complex was soon burnt down, must have felt like a real life episode of Thunderbirds, but obviously without the Thunderbirds to save the people inside the building. It must have been really scary for them.

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

Having watched every session of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and watched the Summerland fire, the comparisons have to be drawn. The difference is that regulations had changed but when manufacturers are responsible for making public test results, it would seem that commercial interests override safety. I would describe the polymer insulation industry as worse than the tobacco industry and ACM can join them as equals. The phase 2 inquiry report is going to be damning. The responsible individuals must face prison but the French are protecting their people. Lessons were learned from Summerland but unfortunately it taught those who put profit before life more lessons and that is why we got Grenfell.

[@bjoe385]

Finally, the video I’ve been requesting for years to various KZbin.

[@stewy62]

Unbelievable but perhaps unsurprising that the British building industry did not fully learn from this tragedy. As a frequent visitor to the TT in the 90’s we used to go to Summerland which became the venue for sordid entrainment once the Palace Lido closed (wet t-shirt competitions, that sort of thing). Saw Wishbone Ash and Suzi Quattro there. What a grim place, outside and inside, serving terrible pints, but better than the eyesore that remains today. Interesting how our attitudes as a nation have changed to such cock-ups over the years.

[@stuartrichardson5699]

oh how sad and how scandalous that the lessons were not learnt with Grenfell

[@GenaF]

I didn't know of this building but it's shocking to think people were expected to walk through the framework

[@oc2phish07]

I was at the TT before Summerland burned down. I have a few photos from inside it.

[@thefabulousstevieg]

I holidayed in the Isle of Man with my parents exactly one year before this tragedy. We spent a vast amount of our holiday in the Summerland complex. It is terrifying to think we were in an 'accident waiting to happen'.

[@alfkir123]

Ever since learning about this in school I’ve always wanted to know what was it was like in here

[@theleastofpilgrims3379]

Indeed, it is fascinating.

[@paulnicoll1791]

Three things. The fire was first reported by the bridge crew of an ferry arriving from liverpool. There is now a memorial to the lost ant the foot of summerhill Rd and more distressing is the fact that one victim has never been identified

[@chrisyboy219]

I think they found the ant, but the foot was never recovered. :(

[@paulnicoll1791]

@@chrisyboy219 I meant at the foot of sumnerhill

[@darkmatter6714]

Outstanding piece of work. So well written and presented.

[@desperatemohammedantheworl5833]

10:11 - Echoes of the ridiculous verdict of the first coroners enquiry in the Hillsborough disaster.

[@ChangesOneTim]

Beyond the original idea to build a leisure complex there in the first place, every stage of Summerlands was a disaster. Once the civils works hit big problems, especially pinning to the cliff face, it became more vital to cut costs. In those days you were more likely to get away with it. For any UK developer looking to make a buck not too far from home, weak Manx building control regulations must have come in very handy. A great summary of the disaster, thank you.

[@davenz000]

40 years before Grenfell and still the muppets use flammable claddings.

[@alcyonecrucis]

Epic, great storytelling

[@mrkipling2201]

I think the question should be, what part of the building wasn’t highly flammable ?? I’ve never heard anything so negligent in regards to building and building material regulations!! It was basically a huge tinder box which would cause a huge cloud of cloying, toxic black smoke. Awful.

[@Meddled]

The dome at Potterrow in Edinburgh is also made of some old plastic with an abysmal fire rating. In a fire the heat will make it quickly fall out of the frames.

[@micedwards4037]

I would have been there that night with my family and a friend but my dad got called into work.

[@levi501ize]

aye me too, we had been at a agricultural show that day, and badgered me owl fella to go. but ended up in peel at the craig hotel and fish a chips after.

[@waterloosunset4559]

I was working there that summer as a 16 year old. I remember the ambulances and the injured, the walking wounded being transported to hospital via the trams. Horrific.

[@tombennett4742]

According to BBC Lok North (TV news station that covered the fire and aftermath. The makers of oroglass (Plexiglass in the USA they said) would"burn as slowly as mahogany.) "

[@pauldavis8242]

I used to live in Douglas and always wondered what that building (or what remained of it) used to be. Thank you for quelling my curiosity!

[@telboyynwa699]

We normally took our yearly holiday in Douglas, IOM and would have been there that week and very likely in the Summerland complex. We were there the previous year and used to frequent Summerland I was 16yrs old at the time with two younger sisters and a brother, I particularly remember how popular it was with families, besides using the pool we liked playing crazy golf on the ‘Arnold Palmer’ course (visible on the aerial shots). However that particular week of the disaster my father decided for a change from the usual, he would take the family to Cornwall instead. We remember watching the disaster live on TV and could imagine how terrifying it must have been for families trying to escape from the burning dripping plastic. We count ourselves lucky!

[@superseven220]

I'd never heard of this before, great video, thanks

[@karenwhitehead2260]

Remember going there in the early 70s, just got back home and 2wk later it burned down😲 my relatives live on the island we could see the smoke from where I live on the Cumbria coast, it was unreal, 😢😢😢😢

[@rooneye]

We just don't do leisure like we used to in the 90's and it makes me sad.

[@followthetrawler]

Thanks for that - my Wifes cousin was inside at the time of the fire, he still doesnt talk about it. It must have been terrifying for him as a young kid