Summerland Fire - Douglas, Isle of Man - Famous Fires on Waymarking.com

The cause of the fire was three boys smoking in a small, disused kiosk adjacent to the centre's miniature golf course. Eventually the burning kiosk collapsed against the exterior of the building. This part of the building was clad in a material called Galbestos—profiled steel sheeting with asbestos felt on both sides coated with bitumen,with limited fire-resistance qualities. The fire spread to the wall's interior soundproofing material, which also had poor fire-resistance qualities, causing an explosion that ignited the highly flammable acrylic sheeting which covered the rest of the building. The fire spread quickly across the sheeting on the leisure centre walls and roof, and through vents which were not properly fireproofed. The acrylic melted, which allowed more oxygen to enter and dropped burning melted material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape, The building's open-plan design included many unblocked internal spaces that acted as chimneys, adding to the conflagration.

There was no attempt to evacuate the 3,000 people present until the visible evidence of the flames prompted a panic-stricken mass rush for the exits, where many people were crushed and trampled. Because of the locked fire doors, many people headed to the main entrance, which caused a crush.

The fire services were not called for over twenty minutes, and even then the call did not originate from the centre. Instead the first call came from a passing taxi driver and another via the captain of a ship located 2 miles (3.2 km) out at sea who radioed HM Coastguard and said "It looks as if the whole of the Isle of Man is on fire". The Coastguard immediately called the fire brigade. The first responding fire crews immediately realised additional resources would be required and almost every resource available to the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service was mobilised to the incident (93 of its 106 firefighters and all 16 of its engines)

Between fifty and fifty-three people died in the fire. The number of fatalities was worsened by the failure of power supplies and emergency generators, inadequate ventilation and locked fire doors.

The centre was seriously damaged by the fire. Its charred steel skeleton remains were demolished in 1975 and then rebuilt on a smaller scale, construction commencing in 1976, with a smaller area of glass than the original, and a highly advanced fire extinguisher and alarm system. The centre reopened in 1977, closed in 2004, and was demolished in 2005.

The west wall remains intact to this day, as there was concern that its removal may cause the adjacent cliff to collapse.

There is a memorial for those who died in the fire a short distance away in the Kaye Memorial Gardens on King Edward Road in Douglas. (visit link)


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Type of Structure: Public building Other: Leisure centre Construction Date: 05/25/1971 Fire Date: 08/02/1973 Structure status: Plaque Cause of Fire: Three boys who were smoking in a small, disused kiosk Documentation of the fire: [Web Link]

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