Summerland Leisure Complex Douglas Isle of Man IM99 2TB Tel: +44 (0) 1624 625511 The Site Facilities Include: Cinema Children's Soft Play Area Squash Badminton Basketball Five-a-Side Football Tennis Rollerskating Volleyball Indoor Golf Simulator Sports Bar Nightclub Spa Suite Future of Summerland Site 5 October 2010 Follow on beyond Summerland and Port Jack. Lots of wildlife viewing!! My Mum persuaded me not to stay any longer in the childrens' play area in the basement, so we returned to the gallery area overlooking the stage/dancefloor to join my brother and uncle. In the summer everyone enjoyed the talent competitions which were great fun. This, coupled with the constant sirens of emergency vehicles, is what made this the worst night of my life. We spent alot of time in Summerland it was a great venue for all the family. 34808 | VAT Registration Number: 001090349 Directors . They went to give bloood and looked for my brother and sister on the way. 'We are keenly aware that the Castle Mona is a key heritage asset for the Isle of Man and extremely mindful of the great interest that the Manx public have in the property. I still remember those who died and those who lost loved ones. We were there the night before the fire, we just thatought the "moving staircase" by the front door was the best thing ever. Her Name was Julie Panter, and her friend Dawn Ellingham wrote to me to tell me this. My mum eventually took me and my sisters and I couldn't believe how new and lovely everything was. We never knew if she saved our lives. One survivor (who was a child at the time) remembered her father noticing smoke coming from the ventilation shaft and had started to attempt to evacuate when the whole area erupted in flames. [18], Forty years after the tragedy, a permanent memorial in the form of three granite columns was unveiled at Kaye Memorial Gardens, at the bottom of Summer Hill. On the evening of Thursday 2nd August 1973 an estimated 3,000 people were enjoying themselves at the resort. August ISLE of MAN "SUMMERLANDS DOUGLAS" DESTROYED BY FIRE 2nd AUGUST 1973 POSTED 1974 Street Cars Derby Vehicles Swiss Derby Castle before Summerland was demolished J Judith B summerland isle of man August 2013 My Heritage 40th Anniversary Birth Gem Sidewalk Memories "A good batter, a tasty sauce, and the excellent fried rice with chives.". With a year-round programme of shows and events, there's plenty of ENTERTAINMENT on offer at VillaGaiety. These proposals will necessitate significant investment but will enable us to rectify core issues that have compromised the integrity of the building in recent years, such . Firemen were already on the scene and ran past us with hoses. William LeedsI remember going there as a 6 year old. At the time Summerland was one of the most. RM R8WF63 - Oil wells drilled into the bed of the Pacific ocean at Summerland, between Santa Barbara and Los Angleles, California, United States of America, c. 1915. Summerland Fire Memorial - Douglas, Isle of Man in Disaster Memorials Posted by: Mike_bjm N 54 10.005 W 004 27.799 30U E 404467 N 6003063 Quick Description: The Summerland Fire Memorial is in the Kaye Memorial Gardens on King Edward Road Rushen in Douglas. A period semi-detached double fronted town house built circa 1864, set along a quiet cul-de-sac, yet within easy walking distance of the shops and cafes of Parliament Street. I will never forget her and that night that I nearly died.Sincerely John McGimpsey, Newtownards N Ireland. from when I was an infant until I was a teenager.Also my dad and his friend used to have such fun jumping on the beaded filled cushions in the solariumI also remember being at home in Liverpool watching the blaze on TV and crying becuase I would never be able to go there again. is now owned and operated by the Department of Tourism and Leisure. After a geotechnical team determined that the blocks could not be safely stabilised or removed, and that there was a risk they would fall into the buildings below, the site was scheduled for demolition. The Summerland site is to go on sale after Manx government attempts to find a private development partner failed. Dr Ian Phillips' book on the Summerland fire, revised in March 2021, is the most comprehensive account ever written of the disaster. I had a great time. When we noticed the black smoke to one end of the building - and the crowds looking in that direction - we started to move towards the exit. His solution was to design an artificial centre of sunshine and it had to be spectacular enough to compete with the growing threat of cheap foreign holidays. Meanwhile a group of three school boys on holiday from Liverpool was hanging around at the back of the building next to a section of a dismantled fibre-glass kiosk. Those were the days. A recent trip to Isle of Man brought back many happy memories but I was sad to see that not only had Summerlands closed but the building was completly gone.Some people said I was daft as there was no pool on the prominade but my memories of that place will never disappear. Johnny, LaxeySummerland was such a great place to hang out and I would guess that most of the Isle of Man population that was around at the time of the fire is still in shock. We went to a show to see the Black and White Minstrels, that's when I smelt smoke. There was no attempt to evacuate the 3,000 people present[5] until the visible evidence of the flames prompted a panic-stricken mass rush for the exits. The fire killed 50 people, eleven of them under the age of twenty. Gray 2017 Keystone Summerland 2980 BH with 1 miles for sale at public car auctions in Carville LA on 03-07-2023. The Summerland building in Douglas was the first of its kind in the world and its state-of-the-art facilities put the Isle of Man on the map. The scale of the fire has been compared to those seen during the Blitz. The acrylic material melted, allowing more oxygen to enter, and dropping burning molten material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape. from when I was an infant until I was a teenager.Also my dad and his friend used to have such fun jumping on the beaded filled cushions in the solariumI also remember being at home in Liverpool watching the blaze on TV and crying becuase I would never be able to go there again. It took me a long time to go on holiday again. I remember the music and noise of people just enjoying themselves. It was a tragedy but the happy memories as a child are still vivid even in my late 40's.My thoughts are with those who lost someone dear xx. The state-of-the-art facilities put the Isle of Man on the map as one of the most important tourist destinations in. I wondered why she was fussing me so much and so upset, after all, I was fine. people screaming and trying to escape, one boy broke a window with a microphone stand. over 1.7 million (government grant of 600,000). Phase II I still remember the screams and panic, they haunt me to this day. Fifty people were killed and 80 seriously injured. The house has 4 good sized reception rooms, a breakfast kitchen, basement, 4 bedrooms, ensuite bathroom and separate wc and family bathroom. Opened with much fanfare a little more than two years earlier on 25 May 1971, the 2m climate-controlled building boasted restaurants and bars, an indoor heated swimming pool, saunas, a children's theatre and an underground disco. It does not take away from the fact that it was for a few years, a great place to be. After a couple of hours frozen to the spot I remember seeing my Mum running towards me and picking me up, crying and hugging me as if she hadnt seen me in years or something. VillaGaiety is the Isle of Man's premier ENTERTAINMENT venue. The Summerland fire, according to the independent report into the blaze, will remain a permanent scar in the minds of Manxmen.. The year before the fire we were taken to Summerland to watch a syncronised swimming display. Its charred steel skeletal 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 fire spread to the wall's interior soundproofing material, which was highly combustible, causing an intense fire that ignited the flammable acrylic sheeting that covered the rest of the building. [7] The coastguard immediately called the fire brigade. We went to the shops on the prom and I still have Minnie the clockwork mouse to this day. [10], Because of the locked fire doors, many people headed to the main entrance, which caused a crush.[9]. The island is in desperate need of some alternative. The survivor and her mother were separated from her father and sister and stuck in the venue before being rescued through a window by firemen. At 8:00 p.m. on 2 August 1973, Summerland, a leisure centre on the Isle of Man as shown in Figure 1, was seen to be on fire. The latter idea was eventually scrapped when it was discovered some of the birds were poisoning themselves by eating the plastic foliage. Julie was 14, and identified by her jewellery. I remember going there as a 6 year old. "Services weren't equipped for Summerland disaster", "Article about the disaster based on the report by Dr Ian Philips", "Remembering the Summerland fire disaster, 40 years on", "Isle of Man 'shame' over Summerland fire disaster", "Remembering The Summerland Disaster 40 Years On", "Asbestos information centretrade names", "Summerland fire survivor: 'I don't blame dad for saving my sister and leaving me in blaze but I never got to tell him', "Summerland fire: Fifty victims remembered on anniversary", "Summerland disaster survivor: 'I still dream of people in flames', "THE SUMMERLAND SITE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY", "Summerland fire memorial built to mark 40th anniversary", "Summerland fire victims remembered on 40th anniversary", 1972 amateur film of pre-disaster Summerland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Summerland_disaster&oldid=1142829611, Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 16:12. My mum eventually took me and my sisters and I couldn't believe how new and lovely everything was. A recent trip to Isle of Man brought back many happy memories but I was sad to see that not only had Summerlands closed but the building was completly gone.Some people said I was daft as there was no pool on the prominade but my memories of that place will never disappear. John McGimpseyI was 15,and in the fire, but I escaped by jumping around the bannisters which were jammed with people too frightened to move on the stairs which were on the same side as the balcony with the crazy golf where the fire was started.. I was 5 at the time. Gallery Click to Enlarge. The fire exits - clear glass ones, all in a row - were locked which I guessed afterwards was to prevent people paying for access to one area and then going to the other as well. A period semi-detached double fronted town house built circa 1864, set along a quiet cul-de-sac, yet within easy walking distance of the shops and cafes of Parliament Street. This part of the building was clad in a material called Galbestos: profiled steel sheeting with asbestos felt on both sides coated with bitumen,[5][8] with no fire-resistant qualities. NOTHING! I will never forget the screams and people climbing over each other to get out. I think it would be appropriate and (hopefully) not too disrespectful to the people who passed away there.