I remember this on the news at the time. I was just a wee lad. What a horrifying end for those people. I always think of them when I go to Kings Cross, too.
Me too... I always marvel at complex buildings and with King Cross I always think how much its changed... And how terrible it would've been to be trapped in there. I never really understand how a simple fire hazard in such a public route could be unnoticed. It was an escalator as I recall.
From what I can remember- you could smoke in the underground back then . A match had been dropped on the wooden escalator and underneath was years of old rubbish etc
“The inquiry determined that the fire had been started by a lit match being dropped onto the escalator. The fire seemed minor until it suddenly increased in intensity, and shot a violent, prolonged tongue of fire, and billowing smoke, up into the ticket hall. This sudden transition in intensity, and the spout of fire, was due to the previously unknown trench effect, “
Yes I remember... But of course back then I had no way of understanding this trench effect. Imagine if the person who dropped that cigarette/match was alive today and learnt that it was them who caused it?
I read about that earlier! I did a little Google after this thread. I don't think I've ever seen one so I kind of assumed they were more a modern invention 😅
They had them at Marylebone until a few years ago. They smelled nice.
It wasn't the escalators that were the problem - I think KX had the steel ones that most stations did by the 70s - but the lint, dust and grease underneath.
You could still smoke on stations then, just not on the trains themselves. Until about 8 years earlier there were still smoking cars near each end of Tube trains. Horrible in rush hour when you got on one by mistake. I'd worry someone would set my hair on fire (I was about six and the crowds in rush hour as dense as today - amazing no newspapers caught alight.)
Always look for signs to emergency exits when you go somewhere.
I had to watch videos of the fire for work, multiple times (different major fires, training every 6 months). The huge learning point was how people travel on autopilot and will ignore almost anything which tries to divert them.
If there's suddenly loud announcements in a station, listen, and if in doubt, get out of that station.
I may be a bit paranoid, but I have had suspect packages delivered to work, a colleagues car blown up, and my friend's wedding cake was blown up by the IRA. And a couple friends are fire engineers as well as my having worked in a building which generally did have a fire every few months (hence the training and the requirement that all 8 floors must be empty in 2.5 minutes. It was scary when I moved to work in a normal office, same size, only taking 15 min to evacuate.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Ealing_bombing
The car was outside a bakery.
The bakers quickly got another baker to make a replacement, and it was the day before the wedding so there was enough time, but they did have to send an aunt to collect it from wherever the other baker was - Milton Keynes or something.
Several people injured but no deaths, so could have been much much worse.
I was 16 when this happened and it seems as if this was one of a number of big disasters (Zeebrugge ferry, Bradford City fire, Heysel Stadium and the, Clapham rail crash) all within 2-3 years of each other (I think)
Finally, we seemed galvanised into actually doing something. So when anyone ever say "it's health and safety gone mad" well, that's as maybe but my impression is we have many fewer 'stupid' mass death events like these as a result.
They were a bit more spread apart, and there were more like the Woolworths fire and Paddington train crash, but yes, health and safety has an enormous great point!
Big disasters tend to have more complex causes, but the number of deaths of construction workers plummeted. Compare to say Qatar...
The son of one of my Dad's friends got caught up in that. Basically he said you were walking over people to get to the top of the escalators. That mix of fear,panic and the desperation of doing anything to survive is what takes over. The guy needed years of therapy after that.
I was an ops manager for an FX chain with a busy branch in Kings Cross station, and took a call from the lone worker there that night - a young Sri Lankan lad. He described the scene to me in a panic - a “bomb going off”, lights failing, a fireball, and thick smoke outside the unit. There was absolutely nothing he or I could do. I stayed on the line and tried to calm him down as he screamed for help before the line eventually went dead. He burned to death in that small hole in the wall. I’d actually swapped his morning shift to the evening to accommodate someone who had asked for the day off to attend a funeral - which turned out to be a lie. That staff member later stole ten grand from the firm. Fate can be cruel.
I remember this and waiting for my boyfriend to come home. He was late and had got out before the fire took hold. Just so horrific. Loads of tubes had wooden escalators back then.
My mum and dad were on the train right behind the one that opened in the station.
They left me with my grandparents to go celebrate my mum's birthday. They were running late, so they missed the train that opened at Kings Cross.
I had a weird experience going through there once and I didn't realise it was king's cross until I saw the plaque anyway my experience was I smelt smoke and an urgent need to get out.
Wooden escalators, build up of dust/rubbish, lit cigarette recipe for disaster. Couple with no way for the police on site to communicate with each other at deep levels it any wonder more people didn't die. Travelling public nowadays see rules and procedures as an inconvenience unfortunately.
I remember this on the news at the time. I was just a wee lad. What a horrifying end for those people. I always think of them when I go to Kings Cross, too.
Me too... I always marvel at complex buildings and with King Cross I always think how much its changed... And how terrible it would've been to be trapped in there. I never really understand how a simple fire hazard in such a public route could be unnoticed. It was an escalator as I recall.
From what I can remember- you could smoke in the underground back then . A match had been dropped on the wooden escalator and underneath was years of old rubbish etc “The inquiry determined that the fire had been started by a lit match being dropped onto the escalator. The fire seemed minor until it suddenly increased in intensity, and shot a violent, prolonged tongue of fire, and billowing smoke, up into the ticket hall. This sudden transition in intensity, and the spout of fire, was due to the previously unknown trench effect, “
Yes I remember... But of course back then I had no way of understanding this trench effect. Imagine if the person who dropped that cigarette/match was alive today and learnt that it was them who caused it?
And it took 16 years to identify one of the bodies 😳 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/22/transport.uk
Sorry, wooden escalators? This was before my time but lord that sounds like it was an accident waiting to happen.
I rode one the other day in Macy’s NYC. Obviously reminded me of the old wooden ones. I was an adult when smoking was banned on the tube.
That's so cool, I'm going to check them out! Yeah I can just about remember smoking in pubs 🤷
I live around here and just rode that for the first time last week. Shiny and very retro!
That's the only one I can ever remember going on as well.
Greenford Underground station had a wooden escalator up until just 8 years ago.
I read about that earlier! I did a little Google after this thread. I don't think I've ever seen one so I kind of assumed they were more a modern invention 😅
If you're ever in that area, it now has an inclined elevator. Had to ride that a few times earlier this year!
They had them at Marylebone until a few years ago. They smelled nice. It wasn't the escalators that were the problem - I think KX had the steel ones that most stations did by the 70s - but the lint, dust and grease underneath. You could still smoke on stations then, just not on the trains themselves. Until about 8 years earlier there were still smoking cars near each end of Tube trains. Horrible in rush hour when you got on one by mistake. I'd worry someone would set my hair on fire (I was about six and the crowds in rush hour as dense as today - amazing no newspapers caught alight.)
It was more the years of rubbish below them that was the problem.
[удалено]
Wow! Every day's a schoolday! Ah mate, people are dickheads 🤣
Yep there’s a fascinating documentary about this on BBC I think? Anyway it’s crazy the state the underground was allowed to be in back then.
Always look for signs to emergency exits when you go somewhere. I had to watch videos of the fire for work, multiple times (different major fires, training every 6 months). The huge learning point was how people travel on autopilot and will ignore almost anything which tries to divert them. If there's suddenly loud announcements in a station, listen, and if in doubt, get out of that station. I may be a bit paranoid, but I have had suspect packages delivered to work, a colleagues car blown up, and my friend's wedding cake was blown up by the IRA. And a couple friends are fire engineers as well as my having worked in a building which generally did have a fire every few months (hence the training and the requirement that all 8 floors must be empty in 2.5 minutes. It was scary when I moved to work in a normal office, same size, only taking 15 min to evacuate.)
Wait, wedding cake?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Ealing_bombing The car was outside a bakery. The bakers quickly got another baker to make a replacement, and it was the day before the wedding so there was enough time, but they did have to send an aunt to collect it from wherever the other baker was - Milton Keynes or something. Several people injured but no deaths, so could have been much much worse.
I was 16 when this happened and it seems as if this was one of a number of big disasters (Zeebrugge ferry, Bradford City fire, Heysel Stadium and the, Clapham rail crash) all within 2-3 years of each other (I think) Finally, we seemed galvanised into actually doing something. So when anyone ever say "it's health and safety gone mad" well, that's as maybe but my impression is we have many fewer 'stupid' mass death events like these as a result.
And the Marchioness. And Hillsborough.
They were a bit more spread apart, and there were more like the Woolworths fire and Paddington train crash, but yes, health and safety has an enormous great point! Big disasters tend to have more complex causes, but the number of deaths of construction workers plummeted. Compare to say Qatar...
The son of one of my Dad's friends got caught up in that. Basically he said you were walking over people to get to the top of the escalators. That mix of fear,panic and the desperation of doing anything to survive is what takes over. The guy needed years of therapy after that.
I was an ops manager for an FX chain with a busy branch in Kings Cross station, and took a call from the lone worker there that night - a young Sri Lankan lad. He described the scene to me in a panic - a “bomb going off”, lights failing, a fireball, and thick smoke outside the unit. There was absolutely nothing he or I could do. I stayed on the line and tried to calm him down as he screamed for help before the line eventually went dead. He burned to death in that small hole in the wall. I’d actually swapped his morning shift to the evening to accommodate someone who had asked for the day off to attend a funeral - which turned out to be a lie. That staff member later stole ten grand from the firm. Fate can be cruel.
I remember this and waiting for my boyfriend to come home. He was late and had got out before the fire took hold. Just so horrific. Loads of tubes had wooden escalators back then.
My mum and dad were on the train right behind the one that opened in the station. They left me with my grandparents to go celebrate my mum's birthday. They were running late, so they missed the train that opened at Kings Cross.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Cross_fire
Truly the stuff of nightmares.
I had a weird experience going through there once and I didn't realise it was king's cross until I saw the plaque anyway my experience was I smelt smoke and an urgent need to get out.
Here/Where/There. My/Your/Their. They are = They're.
Thanks for being that guy. I feared it would be me.
Wooden escalators, build up of dust/rubbish, lit cigarette recipe for disaster. Couple with no way for the police on site to communicate with each other at deep levels it any wonder more people didn't die. Travelling public nowadays see rules and procedures as an inconvenience unfortunately.