Isle of Man, Summerland fire 02/08/1973

Summerland Fire Disaster

“The Summerland disaster is one of the most forgotten news stories in the post-war history of the British Isles.”

Dr Ian Phillips

In 1973, 50 people died when fire swept through the Summerland entertainment centre in Douglas, Isle of Man

1973: Fire moved 'quicker than I could walk'

Thirty years ago the Summerland leisure resort on the Isle of Man went up in flames.

Isle of Man 'shame' over Summerland fire disaster

Forty years after the Summerland fire, a sense of collective shame still exists on the Isle of Man, according to a local campaigner.

Tina Brennan from Douglas remembers watching in horror from the cliff-top as the leisure complex burnt to the ground, killing 50 people – mainly holidaymakers.

UpStairs Lounge fire provokes powerful memories 40 years later

The UpStairs Lounge fire: a remembrance Forty years ago on June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the UpStairs Lounge, a popular gay bar on the corner of Iberville and Chartres Streets. 32 people died in the blaze and no one was ever arrested or convicted for the crime. We explore the event through eye witnesses and experts in this video.

Services weren't equipped for Summerland disaster

Emergency services who responded to the Summerland disaster 40 years ago today weren’t properly equipped to deal with the situation.

That’s the view of journalist Terry Cringle who reported from the scene on the day the leisure complex set fire in 1973.

The un-found island

The word Summerland today conveys long pleasant golden days–the Lotus-Eaters’ land in which it seemed always afternoon, a realm where the sun never set and the tiresome seasons never changed. This is because hardly anyone remembers what it meant to British holidaymakers in the dawn of the 1970s, or what it meant the morning of Friday, August the 3rd, 1973, when daylight revealed what was left of it.

Remembering the Summerland fire disaster, 40 years on

It was the seaside disaster which claimed 50 lives, including 15 from Merseyside and Cheshire, and sent shockwaves through the nation.

Forty years ago, thousands of holidaymakers from our region had again flocked to the Isle of Man for their summer holidays.

Isle of Man's forgotten holiday horror

Hidden among the blue and pink hydrangeas in a small memorial garden on a windswept Douglas promenade is a simple memorial. It’s a stone laid five years ago, on the anniversary of a disaster on the Isle of Man that killed 51 people and had implications far beyond the lives destroyed that midsummer’s night.

Summerland fire survivor: 'I don't blame dad for saving my sister and leaving me in blaze but I never got to tell him'

A Northern Ireland woman who survived the 1973 Summerland fire disaster has revealed for the first time that she will always be haunted by the sight of her panic-stricken father rescuing his younger daughter and leaving her behind.

Summerland fire: Fifty victims remembered on anniversary

A short service will be held in Douglas later to remember the 50 people who died in the Summerland fire disaster.

About 3,000 holidaymakers were inside the complex when fire swept through the building on 2 August 1973.

Summerland fire disaster, Isle of Man | 2nd August 1973

Opened with much fanfare a little more than two years earlier on 25 May 1971, the  Å2m climate-controlled building boasted restaurants and bars, an indoor heated swimming pool, saunas, a children’s theatre and an underground disco. It was billed as the most innovative indoor entertainment centre in the world and could house up to 10,000 tourists. However, the building’s exterior and interior were designed by different architects, resulting in significant fire risks that went unnoticed.

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