My teacher was in college at the time of the fire and she said it was absolute chaos, she also told me how distraught everyone was when S.O Colin Townsley was discovered dead, rest in peace brave soul.
im surprised that this fire effect on the 30 degree angle hadnt been discovered before by fire experts. had they known about what was happening on the stairs, more people could have been saved and there would have been a quick evacuation of the ticket hall. i know the person who dropped the match must have felt awful after, but they might have dropped it by accident rather than just carelessly tossing it aside.
London Fire Brigade A24 Soho, Station Officer Colin 'Tonker' Townsley (Good Conduct Medal, George Medal (posthumous)) A true hero. you will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace. StnO Townsley is 10-7 but we remain 10-8. We'll take the next call brother
The severity of the blaze was down to a combination of an old wooden escalator, and something known as the trench effect. The 30 degree incline of the escalator caused the flames to lie down, rather than burn straight upwards. This resulted in the stairs of the escalator reaching a temperature at which the spontaneously ignited. The resultant column of flame acted like a furnace blasting straight into the ticket hall. It was a superb, brave effort from the emergency services that night.
Men like Station Officer Townsley and his ilk kist arent made anymore. God Bless him and the men of the London Fire Brigade who risked their lives that horrendous night.
The build up of grease and rubbish under escalators was and still is a well known problem. Thats why there were teams of workers, known in the industry as fluffers,whose job it was to go beneath these wooden structures and remove the accumilated debris. You could not ask for a better fuel to start a fire. Due to Gov cuts in buget at the time these teams were all but dismissed. you want someone to blame? Look no further than the Gov and London Underground managers who implemented the cuts
I comment and rate videos : This video is pretty good with the description and good quality. For those who are asking if they found the person who did it and that its an accident, its not... the lady threw a lit match and they found her
MrVideoCommentator is commentating pure bollocks and ought to be strung up by his own pair. The 'match/cigarette' theory was the most likely source of the fire but never proven - let alone them actually finding who dropped it.
The "who" is irrelevant - what only ever mattered was the "how". The only reason "who" gets bought up here is because sundry mentalist tosspots like to spew their pet particular hate/vendetta/paranoia all over the shop and then add an extra splat for a Comment. Yeaheven after seeing this.
Even though you couldn't snoke on the underground, someone tossed a still-burning match off the side of an escalator and it set some rubbish alight. Plus the escalators (which I think were due an upgrade that year, tragically) were partially made of wood. Escalators nowadays aren't.
I remember this like yesterday, I avoided using the tube ever since. It was around 2004, when they were able to identify the last of an unnamed body after so many years! Then came the Clapham Junction railway disaster...
I think I heard of this one or two years after this happenned - I was only 3 when this actually happened. But what a horrible catastrophe. RIP to all who died in the blaze.
50 lives saved, I'm amazed at the heroism of the firefighters that night, including Colin Townsley, what a brave man. I do wonder what ever happened to that person (who may or may not know it was them) who lit that match/cigarette and just dropped it down the escalator without a care in the world, not knowing the carnage that would ensue. All I can say is RIP to the 31 victims and their friends and family, what a tragedy.
I'm very lucky. My cousin was there that night with my aunt. They managed to escape the fire albeit suffering from smoke inhalation (we were worried as my cousin has a hole in the heart and there could have been complications). But they lived and we are lucky.
My thoughts with those that weren't so lucky and my anger at the fact that 20 years on, theer are still lessons to be learnt.
I would like to pay my condolences to all of the family members of the unfortunate. If it wasn't for one foolish person in 1987, then smoking on the underground would only have been outlawed this year. I hope that the person who dropped their still lit cigartte end in the tracks can look at themselves in the mirror knowing that they have cost people lives and could have cost a lot more.
The enquiry found out that the fire was caused by grease and debris gathering at the bottom of the underside of the escalator and was NOT ignited by a cigarette but rather by a hot piece of machinery.
That isn't correct I'm afraid. The Fennell Report, the official report into the disaster, stated that it was believed the fire was started by a carelessly discarded cigarette which dropped down onto the running tracks of the escalator and ignited a build up of grease and debris.
RIP all that died and firefighters really do need a huge pay increase,they are true heroes and it really annoys me that footballers and pop stars get payed millions while fireman and nurses get paid next to nothing
thank you for posting this vid. im fascinated by this fire. does anyone know if there is the reconstruction fottage somewhere round here? Fire+safty made a mock escalator to reconstruct how the fire spread; i find it fascinating. anyone know?
Don't know if it's on youtube but there was a documentary a while ago that covered a number of disasters, including this one, and showed footage of the HSE's reconstructions.
i had it recorded, but i didnt have my dvd recorder at the time, so i recorded it to my camcorder. the picture is terrible. was wondering if anyone else has a better recording.
I have not seen this before, the baldheaded fireman is my father and thank god he was only suffering with exhaustion! I dont think we can ever thank firemen enough for what they do and their salary's in no way is sufficient for the risks they are expected to take!
Would you actually want to partner a DO in BA - maybe not! Under those circumstances we all look to the guys we know best; it's instictive and very often a life saver.
thank good the underground has changed scince then. sorry about spelling. lets hope all those who spen there last minutes in kings cross did not suffer. hope you r al in better place.
My teacher was in college at the time of the fire and she said it was absolute chaos, she also told me how distraught everyone was when S.O Colin Townsley was discovered dead, rest in peace brave soul.
rrefreak11 2 months ago
stupid britons using wooden escalators LMAO
wesmanavus 3 months ago
@wesmanavus This was in 1987.. Baring in mind the escalators were are very old due to the age of the underground network...
ScottiesVlog 2 months ago
The extreme heat was due to the Ram-Lam-Firetube effect but the so-called flashover was due to explosion of pent up vapour from all the grease.
brssgirl 5 months ago
Look @ 1:35. Firemen are now on 40 year pensions. Will be riding at age 60/65. Its a joke and needs sorting!
windsornun 5 months ago
wheres bayleaf and his team
brushtraction 6 months ago
im surprised that this fire effect on the 30 degree angle hadnt been discovered before by fire experts. had they known about what was happening on the stairs, more people could have been saved and there would have been a quick evacuation of the ticket hall. i know the person who dropped the match must have felt awful after, but they might have dropped it by accident rather than just carelessly tossing it aside.
safffarm 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
London Fire Brigade A24 Soho, Station Officer Colin 'Tonker' Townsley (Good Conduct Medal, George Medal (posthumous)) A true hero. you will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace. StnO Townsley is 10-7 but we remain 10-8. We'll take the next call brother
pyro999maniac 7 months ago
all because of a cigarette fucking smokers that dont use ashtrays :(
juniorracer1995 8 months ago 2
RIP Colin Townsley, the London Fire Brigade will miss you! You will always be remembered.
1f5sda 9 months ago 3
@B251 "A fire shitted up the insides of an underground station" - is that a technical term?
LaurelVentura 10 months ago
The severity of the blaze was down to a combination of an old wooden escalator, and something known as the trench effect. The 30 degree incline of the escalator caused the flames to lie down, rather than burn straight upwards. This resulted in the stairs of the escalator reaching a temperature at which the spontaneously ignited. The resultant column of flame acted like a furnace blasting straight into the ticket hall. It was a superb, brave effort from the emergency services that night.
motormouth1974v3 11 months ago
My mother was in this fire. She was saved by Colin Townsley. She is the strongest person I know.<3
RIP to the 31 victims.
We will never forget.
beee301 11 months ago 5
Go firefighters! RIP to the 31 victims, especially Colin "Guv" Townsley. You will never be forgotten.
1f5sda 11 months ago
Please don't drop lit matches.
TheSkuLLcomedyShow 11 months ago 2
GIVE UP SMOKING
Ilikeelevator 1 year ago
Men like Station Officer Townsley and his ilk kist arent made anymore. God Bless him and the men of the London Fire Brigade who risked their lives that horrendous night.
Scousefire 1 year ago
Nowadays evacuation procedures are better. shame it takes a tragedy to make things right.
Well done to the heroes - the emergency services.
lofthouse23 1 year ago
Remember british transport police and london ambulance crews also where heroic on that day as well !
glaxev 1 year ago
The build up of grease and rubbish under escalators was and still is a well known problem. Thats why there were teams of workers, known in the industry as fluffers,whose job it was to go beneath these wooden structures and remove the accumilated debris. You could not ask for a better fuel to start a fire. Due to Gov cuts in buget at the time these teams were all but dismissed. you want someone to blame? Look no further than the Gov and London Underground managers who implemented the cuts
cyclist68 1 year ago
Jenlzzle family - I too have seen the documentary on National Geographic as par t of the :Seconds from disaster" series. Pretty interesting eh?
RIP to those who died.
lancemckellar 2 years ago
This partially reminds me of Fireman Sam
StreetTaggerUK 2 years ago
@StreetTaggerUK what kind of muppet are you, posting comments like that???
markthebusman 2 years ago
How does that make me a muppet, I just meant by the outfits. God
StreetTaggerUK 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
yes they do! L_L
Fryjak 2 years ago
Comment removed
booth2710 2 years ago
Hello, my name is "MrVideoCommenter"
I comment and rate videos : This video is pretty good with the description and good quality. For those who are asking if they found the person who did it and that its an accident, its not... the lady threw a lit match and they found her
MrVideoCommenter 2 years ago
Do you know when and how they found her?
:)
mrgeo89 2 years ago
MrVideoCommentator is commentating pure bollocks and ought to be strung up by his own pair. The 'match/cigarette' theory was the most likely source of the fire but never proven - let alone them actually finding who dropped it.
krakenwave 2 years ago 7
@krakenwave Pretty much impossible to find out who did it, no CCTV in those days
bronzeonion 1 year ago
@bronzeonion
The "who" is irrelevant - what only ever mattered was the "how". The only reason "who" gets bought up here is because sundry mentalist tosspots like to spew their pet particular hate/vendetta/paranoia all over the shop and then add an extra splat for a Comment. Yeaheven after seeing this.
krakenwave 1 year ago
Did they find who started the fire?
mrgeo89 3 years ago
I think it was just rubbish under the escalator accidentally set alight.
GasStation2 2 years ago
No its wasnt i watched what actually happened it was a lady who just through a lit match and it fell through a gap and made that fire
MrVideoCommenter 2 years ago
Even though you couldn't snoke on the underground, someone tossed a still-burning match off the side of an escalator and it set some rubbish alight. Plus the escalators (which I think were due an upgrade that year, tragically) were partially made of wood. Escalators nowadays aren't.
kcy29581 2 years ago
the escalators were made before world war 2 - certainly due for an upgrade, never mind a rubbish clean-out!!!
AidanLunn 2 years ago 2
Yeah they did it was a lady who threw a match that was lit
MrVideoCommenter 2 years ago
I remember this like yesterday, I avoided using the tube ever since. It was around 2004, when they were able to identify the last of an unnamed body after so many years! Then came the Clapham Junction railway disaster...
fizi247 3 years ago
Stop using exclamation marks all the time!
tjf4375 3 years ago
And secondary fire escape routes were locked! Couldn't happen today (thank goodness)
tjf4375 3 years ago
I think I heard of this one or two years after this happenned - I was only 3 when this actually happened. But what a horrible catastrophe. RIP to all who died in the blaze.
AntarcticaTelevision 3 years ago
this new piece is really exciting for something 20 years old. The news actually looks like news, not like wot we have today.
mwiafe 3 years ago 2
I'm watching the documentary on it now on National Geographic channel.
It started with a discarded match.
I must say, all the people involved seem so brave.
JenIzzlefamily 3 years ago
je ziet eerst damage dan de rook
gertgertgert18 4 years ago
50 lives saved, I'm amazed at the heroism of the firefighters that night, including Colin Townsley, what a brave man. I do wonder what ever happened to that person (who may or may not know it was them) who lit that match/cigarette and just dropped it down the escalator without a care in the world, not knowing the carnage that would ensue. All I can say is RIP to the 31 victims and their friends and family, what a tragedy.
angelicMisha 4 years ago 16
@angelicMisha im glad Colin Townsley saved them lives he will never be forgotten by me and so many others :)
Fasters2 1 year ago 3
I'm very lucky. My cousin was there that night with my aunt. They managed to escape the fire albeit suffering from smoke inhalation (we were worried as my cousin has a hole in the heart and there could have been complications). But they lived and we are lucky.
My thoughts with those that weren't so lucky and my anger at the fact that 20 years on, theer are still lessons to be learnt.
EmmaJ76 4 years ago 2
I would like to pay my condolences to all of the family members of the unfortunate. If it wasn't for one foolish person in 1987, then smoking on the underground would only have been outlawed this year. I hope that the person who dropped their still lit cigartte end in the tracks can look at themselves in the mirror knowing that they have cost people lives and could have cost a lot more.
enaeb 4 years ago 2
The enquiry found out that the fire was caused by grease and debris gathering at the bottom of the underside of the escalator and was NOT ignited by a cigarette but rather by a hot piece of machinery.
oldun52 4 years ago
That isn't correct I'm afraid. The Fennell Report, the official report into the disaster, stated that it was believed the fire was started by a carelessly discarded cigarette which dropped down onto the running tracks of the escalator and ignited a build up of grease and debris.
tjf4375 4 years ago
actually it was a still llit match...
aliceinchainsburns08 3 years ago
You're right, indeed it was. My mistake!
tjf4375 3 years ago
RIP
samb14 4 years ago
20 years ago.
RIP
Pete4000uk 4 years ago
RIP all that died and firefighters really do need a huge pay increase,they are true heroes and it really annoys me that footballers and pop stars get payed millions while fireman and nurses get paid next to nothing
DASLIBERTINE 4 years ago 5
thank you for posting this vid. im fascinated by this fire. does anyone know if there is the reconstruction fottage somewhere round here? Fire+safty made a mock escalator to reconstruct how the fire spread; i find it fascinating. anyone know?
la4or 4 years ago
Don't know if it's on youtube but there was a documentary a while ago that covered a number of disasters, including this one, and showed footage of the HSE's reconstructions.
tjf4375 4 years ago
i had it recorded, but i didnt have my dvd recorder at the time, so i recorded it to my camcorder. the picture is terrible. was wondering if anyone else has a better recording.
la4or 4 years ago
I have a recording of it, pm me your email address and I'll see what I can do.
tjf4375 4 years ago
I have not seen this before, the baldheaded fireman is my father and thank god he was only suffering with exhaustion! I dont think we can ever thank firemen enough for what they do and their salary's in no way is sufficient for the risks they are expected to take!
louisealys 4 years ago 4
Great video, thanks for posting. A great example of the fantastic work our fire and rescue crews do in such difficult conditions. Well done guys!
tjf4375 4 years ago
Thanks for posting
nighthawk006 4 years ago
You don't see many DOs going in with BA these days...
briantwigley 4 years ago
Would you actually want to partner a DO in BA - maybe not! Under those circumstances we all look to the guys we know best; it's instictive and very often a life saver.
LancashireDennis 3 years ago
RIP Station Officer Townsley
briantwigley 4 years ago 5
Yea was gona say that mate. He went to a womans aid and sacrificed his own life trying to save another. RIP.
tomltfc 4 years ago 2
Well said, a true hero (one of many that day) who died helping others.
tjf4375 4 years ago
Thank god that sick so-called 'joke' someone posted on this video has been deleted.
KevCityboy 5 years ago
What "joke" was that?
mrgeo89 3 years ago
It was ages ago. Someone said about melting Londoners or something. I can't remember now
KevCityboy 3 years ago
Pretty sick joke.
mrgeo89 3 years ago
god bless all whome perished
North Wales firefighter
samtan14 5 years ago
thank good the underground has changed scince then. sorry about spelling. lets hope all those who spen there last minutes in kings cross did not suffer. hope you r al in better place.
joelabour2 5 years ago
Not seen this before as I was only two but what a horrible disaster. RIP all those who perished
KevCityboy 5 years ago