Do you remember Summerland? I did, on 14 June 2017, when I saw the images of Grenfell Tower burning on the news. Summerland was a holiday complex on the Isle of Man that burned down on 2 August 1973, killing 50 people and seriously injuring a further 80.
It was designed as an all‑weather tourist attraction with a capacity of 10,000, but its walls were clad with combustible materials and the roof, made of Oroglas, an acrylic sheeting, was to melt in the heat on to those trapped below.
That evening, around 3,000 people were inside when some boys, smoking in a kiosk at the side of the building, caused a fire that spread to the main complex with catastrophic results. The subsequent public inquiry condemned the use of flammable materials in its construction, and changes in both building regulations and fire safety were introduced as a result.
So when I woke and saw Grenfell Tower ablaze on that June morning seven years ago, I remembered Summerland and could not comprehend how flammable materials had once again been allowed to encase buildings.
In 2018, a BBC documentary, The Fires That Foretold Grenfell, featured the Summerland fire, together with those from the last three decades at Knowsley Heights, Garnock Court, Harrow Court and Lakanal House. And last year, its 50th anniversary made the news briefly, perhaps partly due to revived interest in Grenfell’s wake.
The Grenfell inquiry has laid bare the cavalier attitude of those selling and installing combustible materials for the refurbishment of existing buildings, and their total disregard in compromising the fire safety features that had been built into their original design. Its resultant recommendations must not be allowed to become forgotten in the passage of time and yet another “unforeseen” tragedy to occur.
Deborah Gahan
Barnstaple, Devon
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