How The King's Cross Fire Killed 31 People - DISASTER BREAKDOWN
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- čas přidán 30. 09. 2022
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Woven into the British Capital of London is its metro system. Known as the London Underground, or affectionately as “The Tube”, since its beginning all the way back in the 1860s, the network gradually grew over decades to become one of the largest and most comprehensive rapid transit networks it the entire world. It carries millions of people every day to and from every corner of the city and neighboring counties. As you’d might expect, it hasn’t all been without incident. Today we’ll explore the events of one day in 1987 in what became not only one of the deadliest accidents to have occurred on the London Underground in recent history but also an incident that completely changed how we think about the deadly hazard of fire.
Sources:
www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/doc...
web.archive.org/web/201705170...
clarksbury.com/cdl/maps.html
www.london-fire.gov.uk/museum...
news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/da...
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1...
web.archive.org/web/201312102...
• Kings Cross - Seconds ...
• Well There's Your Prob...
If you found this video to be interesting, be sure to subscribe as there is a new video every Saturday. This video also went out to my Patrons on Patreon 48 hours before going out publicly. Consider joining here from £1 per month: www.patreon.com/DisasterBreakdown
Twitter: twitter.com/Chloe_HowieCB
Why Do You NEVER Post Video All The Day??????
Very well done. Thank you
I remember reading an article about a woman whose brother was killed in this disaster and she had to go identify his body. And she talks about how she at first didn't think it was her brother because the body was a very dark brown color. But then she said she realized that was her brother's remains. She was just looking at his very badly burnt body.
Jesus Christ, that looks so sad and terrifying
Jeeeeesus...
That is truly horrific. I can't imagine what all the families went through.
Cool story
Sorry but what to expect i someone was burnt? Damn people are rly not smart these days :D
How you managed to fit so much excellent detail into only 18 minutes is amazing. Please keep adding the non air disaster content, it's brilliant.
Awesome video. My dad was a project manager on the refurbishment. We lived in Chingford in 1987, not that far from Walthamstow on the Victoria Line. It was horrifying to me as an 8 year old to see the damage and I was terrified about going past it on the tube for a while afterwards.
My dad is a hero for his civil engineering work in general, but his work on King's X was most heartening for his little girl!
That's the spirit! 😜🚃💨
The trains , also push air through the tunnels as they approach the station , you can feel the air before hearing or seeing the train , this also contributed to the fire by feeding it more oxygen.
Great video btw .
You actually found physical examples of the old wooden escalators. Well done 👏 Tbh, the tube system still looks confusing to get through 🤔
Yeah there is a preserved Wooden Escalator on a Tunnel that runs under the River Tyne. It happens to be near me so I took my opportunity to see it!
@@DisasterBreakdown This is just another reason you're a cut above the rest of disaster-focused creators, you go through greater lengths and you find out information others don't care to put their time to. You are also always very focused on the human side of everything, more humane in general than many other creators in this sphere. So my cold (ok, not *that* cold) Swedish heart thank you deeply, from the warmth of my apartment in Norway. Keep doing what you do, you're one of my favourite creators out there!
@@DisasterBreakdown another Otis MH/MY IIRC...
Once you’re underground it’s pretty self explanatory, follow the colour coded signs to the line you need to take. For most daily commuters it’s a routine, I see people daily who catch some extra sleep on the ride and wake up right at their stop
In remembrance to the victims:
Betty Afua Agyapong
Terrence Alonzo Best
Mark David Bryant
Andy Burdett
Elizabeth N. Byers
Treena Chappell
Dean T. Cottle
Susheila N. Cottle
Felix Dearden
Neville H. Eve
Jane A. Fairey
Natalie A. Falco
Alexander Williamson Fallon
Jonathan R. George
Kuttalam Govindarajan
Graham D. Hall
Michael Holden
Ralph Humerstone
Bernadett Kearney
M.A. Bobby Keegan
Mohammed Shoiab Khan
Marco Liberati
Philip G. Marks
Laurence V. Moran
Lawrence S. Newcombe
Stephen A. Parsons
Christopher Wallace Roome
Rai Singh
John F. Joseph St. Prix
Ivan Tarassenko
Colin J. Townsley
To be fair to get the context for why smoking was outlawed...
Oxford Circus fire, which gets overshadowed by this disaster even though it was horrific in its own right. Could you look into maybe doing a vid on the Oxford Circus fire since it's tied into this one and other Tube fires
This has echoes of the Valley Parade fire 2 years earlier, where a carelessly discarded match is believed to have ignited a build up of debris under the stand at Bradford City FC shortly before half time and again what started as an insignificant fire got out of control very quickly and burned down the entire stand in less than 20 minutes. Sadly more than 50 people died there as well
I was at work in one of the west end theatres the night of the fire. I remember the reports coming in on the backstage comms network, each one more alarming than the last, sirens everywhere in the street outside. But the reality was something else, entirely.
Every time I use Kings Cross tube for anything, I always give a silent nod to those poor souls. Or anywhere else on the Underground where there has been terrible tragedy- Balham, Bounds Green, Bethnal Green, Moorgate. All particularly horrible ways to die.
It is always interesting to hear the stories of those from the time. Thanks for your comment
It's so sad but so common that it takes a disaster for change to occur. Its like they turn a blind eye to safety and claim they don't haven't the money but magically after a disaster they find it!
I remember this so vividly at the time. I was in 6th form at school and we made up a book of condolences to be sent to the station. Living in Belfast we had our own "issues" at the time but the 3 things that I remember clearly was this tradegy, the Alpha Piper disaster and the Zeeburge disaster where the doors weren't closed on the RORO ferry. The 80s were quite a sad time for Great Britain 🇬🇧
Piper Alpha, Zeebrugge, Hillsborough, Kings Cross, Lockerbie, Challenger... It really sucked as a decade for disasters.
@@kimifur Bradford FC fire too.
The fact, that soooo many fires in cities and nature alike have been started by carelessly disgarded matches and cigarette stubs, and yet to this today far too many smokers are still very careless, even indifferent, about the danger, they cause, really pisses me off.
Thank you for actually going to the location, Chloe! It's such a sad and infuriating tragedy. I genuinely hope that the underground system (and public transport in general) in the UK nowadays gets sufficient funding
I don't get to use the Underground as much as I would love to, so when I got round to doing this video I jumped at the opportunity to get down there and shoot plenty of video!
Nope, still chronically underfunded (well Transport for London is a bottomless money pit having just been bailed out from going bust again!) but the UK public transport network is dreadful!
@@Mikeb1001 man, brits love moaning and groaning about their public transport, huh?
Who is Chloe?
@@yakacm I'm assuming Chloe is Disaster Breakdown?
Fire prevention is one of those things that is rarely thought or talked about, and seems unnecessary to improve upon since it seems like it's so rare to most people. But when you're in a situation like this, you want all the help you can get.
So proud of you for this! You did great 🥰 You always do great lol but going to the location and filming when you didn't have to, all for us?! You're a star, Chloe ♥
Thanks! It was well worth it!
We literally paid for that business trip stop it😅
@@itsallschittsandgigglesunt7354 ah alright I'll just stop giving nice compliments to people because some random on the Internet told me to 🥰
💀
Omg ikr I'm so proud of him too like soo proud like wow I feel like dancing in the street🥰
Congrats! Filming on location really added a lot to this. Not only the footage but the edit is really well done.
Thanks a ton!
I remember this very well from the TV news coverage, I was 11 at the time. I recall there were some real challenges identifying some of the victims because the heat of the fire had obliterated their bodies and that one, Alexander Fallon, was only identified a few years ago due to advances in forensics. In his cases I think he was a drifter and no one missed him at the time or realised he was even there which is incredibly sad.
I appreciate you branching out of the norm and for going out to do this! Amazing work. :)
Thanks!
Great video as always, just a quick one, Colin Townsley wasn’t a “fire chief”, that’s an Americanism. He was a Station Officer.
Brilliant vid as always! This is probably my favourite channel right now, I look forward to these every week! The footage from the location definitely added a nice element. Would be really interested to see more general disasters like this covered.
Thanks for watching!
The Trench Effect was discovered via computer modeling. The scale model just proved its existence.
As a kid growing up in London and remembering this, I was always paranoid of stations that still had wooden escalators after the incident. St Pauls in the early 90s was a good example.
One thing to also note that was in the reports and other documentaries about this was the bellows effect the trains passing into the station had on the fire. That's what created the explosive wave of fare that erupted into the station above vs just a very fast moving flash fire.
I've watched this story told many times before, so I wasn't expecting much. Yet, I was very impressed with this presentation which explained things like the physical layout of the station better than any other I've seen. Congratulations on an excellent video!
As always, an incredible story. Just love this channel and the work that goes into it. Thanks!
Glad you enjoy it!
Well done Chloe, a brilliant video as always. I remember this disaster so vividly, having lived not far away at the time. 👌
I'm happy you've branched to other disasters outside of aviation. I've seen several videos on this disaster, but yours is exceptionally thorough as always.
Thank you so much for this video! I first heard of this in Seconds from Disaster, you provided some new info on it that wasn't there - and your own video! Congrats for not just using stock footage like so many people do.
It's not every day I physically applaud after watching a video, but this one broke that streak. Very Well made Video, and I always look forward to seeing the next one.
Wow, thank you!
I remember this disaster well.Congratulations on your coverage of this.Well done.👏👏👏👍
The song King’s Cross by the Pet Shop Boys was released only months before the disaster…almost prophetic.
This turned out fantastic! Thanks for your extra hard work. ❤
Thank you so much for supporting the channel!
Amazing job. We've been through there on holiday and I was completely blown away by how confusing the station is to navigate, and how easy it is to get lost in there!
King's Cross is an insane station. The massive refurbishment took years.
Fantastic episode and your video of the station added a lot to it. Great job
Thanks, glad you liked it
Hey man, just wanted to say the amount of effort you put into making your videos is highly commendable! Keep up the fantastic work!
You do such a great job on all your videos but yours is the best version of this tragedy I’ve seen to date.
Your videos are always impeccable, and I can't say anything different about this one. Good stuff
Thanks!
I don't comment much. Watching the widening diversity of topics outside of aircraft disasters is fantastic. I commend this channel for being entertaining yet educational in a cultural paradigm of instant gratification and quick hits. Cheers. ❤️👏👍
Thank you for your kind words
Literally only 5 months old when this occurred… Such a sad but very important lesson on Fire safety… I’m also now 35 and just learning of this through your video! Thanks for sharing!
Well done DB. I remember this like yesterday, as I'm sure many others do. I was a regular user of the tube at the time and often used KX. The working theory of the discarded match is really just that, a theory. But with the lack of any other evidence it remains the best.
I recall how quickly the reports changed from a two tender (fire tender) event to a full on major incident. RIP all those soles.
Few stories will ever fascinate me as much as the King’s Cross fire, heck it’s one of the biggest reasons I got into the subject that I’m majoring in (forensic science.) Thank you so much for making such a wonderful video about it.
Appreciate the effort 👍
Great video
Really great work. When I saw that footage you took, I just knew it was on the ground footage.
I wish I could do it more. I alwaya knew I wanted to head to the site when I eventually covered it
Thank you for such a great video, Chloe. You know, this brings back to my mind the Pet Shop Boys song "Kings Cross." It was released two months before this fire. Spooky. I remember talk about how the song foresaw the fire after it happened.
I think this is my favorite of your videos of all time! I am mostly an aviation fan, but I really love the degree of detail you went into explaining the structure of the Underground. And shot all the video yourself!
Thanks for watching!
I've seen a fair few videos on this and still learned something new from yours. I really enjoy your channel!
I'm glad you liked it
Very informative. Thank you.
Great video, your footage is really good!
The pacing in this video is fantastic, ad usual. Thank you for telling this story!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very Informative. I didn't realise that the fire brigade were actually on scene before the fireball burst out. The year 1987 was a bleak one for the UK, with the Hungerford Massacre, the Enniskillen Terror Attack, the Great Storm, the BIG Freeze, the Glanrhyd Railway Disaster, the "Black Monday" Stock Market Collapse, and - although it happened at a Belgian port - the capsize of the ferry, Herald of Free Enterprise...
Excellent as always
The quality of this production is so high, Chloe. You should be so proud.
Thank you for your kind words
The layout of Kings Cross St Pancras Underground station was excellently explained. Very interesting video.
Thanks!
Having traveled through both the TFL and NRS parts of Kings Cross/St Pancras station numerous times during a recent UK holiday the description given in this video brings back a lot of memories. It is truly scary to think such a fire erupted there and started in the very escalator (one of the best people watching spots in London) I knew so well not that long ago.
That's a terrifying disaster!! But still wonderfully informative coverage, lovely self gotten footage too! 👌🏻
Thanks!
Excellent content as always.
Thanks, glad you liked it
Such a shame that it takes an complete terrible event to bring about change.
Well, safety is written in blood, infuriatingly
Great vid, I like your narration style.
At first I didn't liked the idea of this disaster but this video is amazing and I praise you for making it, I hope you can branch more.
I'm glad you liked the video in the end :)
thank you for the very cool video!! the footage u made was great!!!
an amazing video!! i think one of the best that has covered this disaster. A shame you didnt mention the unnamed victim of this fire as that’s something parents in london, my mum at least, used to get kids to tell their parents where they are at all times.
Ive just moved away for uni and was feeling a little homesick for london, and this weirdly helped ease it (maybe it was the handshot footage of king’s cross that just remind me of stressful days navigating that maze) along with a phone call to my folks at home.
Love the rail disasters! keep it up!!
I remember it happening, such a terrible tragedy. Good job on the video!!
Thanks for watching!
great video, as always! appreciate you going down to film on location too, it must have taken a lot out of you (i know it would me)!
Thanks. It was a very long day that was non-stop but we got there in the end!
I used to carry out LOLER [safety] inspections on escalators, there is hardly any room under even modern ones so I'm not surprised that olders ones were difficult to clean or maintain. I read a report on the behaviour of people in the incident and despite being told not to leave trains and not to go to the ticket hall people did as "they had always done it that way", a phenomenon known as 'scripting' where people do what is ingrained.
Great video
Thanks!
Wooden escalators? That's insane. Building codes even of the time would never allow such things.
That's all there was back then. I come from there. What you've got to remember is that maintenance on them was virtually zero. It's not the wood, it's the bad management and the stupid person (s) who used matches around wood. Those escalators had been there over 50 years. And to be honest, they were solid. Considering the amount of people on them all day. It certainly was a pain when they wasn't working. Exercise for the day. 😊
@@janewilkins8469 wood should never, ever, be used on stairs or anything that is necessary to move people
I remember it well. Very sad waking up to this disaster. I lived near King Cross. I was only 17. Still brings a tear to my eyes. Xxx
Too often we forget that our hubs of transportation are just as important as the vehicles themselves! Great job, again
Another great video M8.🙂👍
Ah ha - a railway one! Now you're talking. Great work as usual Chloe. Thanks for your efforts.
Thank you for watching!
She's done a few railway ones before.
Hi mate you do a great job with all your videos,this one done well but it's first one and I've watch all of them that I didn't enjoy cheers but it was well put together and U worked hard on it but planes are so interesting hope U have more aviation content I wait ever Saturday for the next masterpiece thanks
As a tourist from the US in 1985, those wooden escalators absolutely fascinated me. I wondered why we didn't use theme here. Steel is so... harsh and unfriendly. I'm sure I used those escalators at King's Cross. I know we went through there a few times while we were in London. The fire ruined those memories for me.
Yeah the firefighters were saying that everything was on fire in the ticket hole and that it was so hot that are jets of water from their fire hoses was turning to steam before it could hit the objective.
This happened a week before the crash of SAA flight 295
I would like to add that while grease and garbage are not likely to spontaneously combust, grain dust and oily fabric like rags and also oily paper towels can and do catch fire without needing an external spark due to the process of heat being produced through the materials oxidizing. (I know I'm possibly getting some words wrong here and not including the proper scientific terms so please correct me if I messed something up.)
That was a very well explained account of what happened
I was seventeen when this happen. I live in France but where in London the year before for a student visit. I remember to have been in the King Cross station, and the wooden steps. When I heard the news, I was not surprised.
The Hammersmith & City line was the Metropolitan line before 1990, it then became its own line after that and got the pink colour with it.
Whenever i heard abt this tragedy I always found it difficult to envision wooden escalators, so thanks for showing them.
I remember mum getting lost in Kings Cross in around 1968 trying to get to Goodge St. it’s certainly labyrinthine, as was Middlesex Hospital.
Something so simple, You got warned, you saw smoke, a flame was visible and still..Lazy people, and the ones that pay don’t deserve it.
I love the different type of video's!
Glad you like them!
Well Done, thx
My former summer camp companion's mom, was passing by the station entrance, where the infamous clip where smoke was recorded.
Can confirm that King's Cross is an absolute labyrinth and so confusing as a foreigner
I got a suggestion Aeroflot Flight 3352 It shocking Due to A ground Controller sleeping on the job
I'll give it a look, thanks!
The footage you got is amazing! Crazy how a small piece of wood killed that many people, very sad
Thanks!
Nice, lets see if either crashes involving southern region DMU oR EMU get the spotlight, like the cannon street station or the cowden crashes, or even the 1957 lewisham crash.
Best Video yet ☺️
Glad you think so!
Townsley was referred to by his men as "the governor". Thames TV's CZcams channel has footage of the funerals for the victims, Townsley included.
Have you tried doing the Kaprun train tunnel fire or maybe the Dusseldorf Airport fire
I've seen the Kaprun Funicular Fire which killed 155 people.
Only 11 of the 163 people on both Funicular trains survived (161 on the uphill and 2 on the downhill all survivors were on the Uphill train) of which went down the tunnel beyond the fire while everyone else when up the tunnel but never made it out alive as we learn from This accident fire travels upwards but not downwards in most cases in tunnels.
The investigation concluded the rules and regulations were outdated and the heaters used were destined for homes and not moving vehicles. The investigation itself was corrupted by the Austrians and the Germans reopened the investigation and I believe published the true final report also in addition 3 people on the upper level station were also killed from smoke inhalation. By opening windows when black thick smoke reached the top station
2/2.
During the investigation into the fire they found that there was scorch marks on only one side of the escalator, which is how they worked out it was started by a passenger leaving the station. It’s generally accepted behaviour to stand right hand side when using an escalator in the UK leaving the left hand side for people who want to walk up.
The thing about the scorch marks is that it showed the investigators that the fire hadn’t been the first one to happen on that escalator. So why did this fire end up doing so much damage. A well meaning member of the public had hit the emergency stop button at the top of the escalator before going to report the fire, in previous fires either nobody noticed the fire or they didn’t stop the escalator. That meant the fire either burned itself out or never caught on to anything major before the fire brigade could put it out. It’s ironic that the person who stopped the escalator ended up helping the fire to spread as the flames were able to catch on to the wooden stationary step.
I remember watching this on the news when it happened. I was also passed through there on the 30th anniversary and was all the flowers in front of the memorial.
Did I see some footage of the escalators at Monument and Haymarket on the Tyne & Wear Metro? I believe that they used the Metro and the Tyne Pedestrian tunnel to film the Seconds From Disaster documentary
Yes, I live in Newcastle and thought I'd grab a bit more footage on the. I'm happy someone spotted the little local Easter eggs 😇
Im surprised that only 31 people perished in this insane event.
This is the best video by far
Eine interessante Dokumentation.
Danke dafür.
Very well done, it turned out well.
It wouldn’t be the last time Kings Cross station would be the scene of disaster. Just shy of 18 years later it was the deadliest bombing (out of 4) during the 7/7 attacks with 26 people losing their lives out of an attack that killed 52 people. I could say the T word, but I don’t think CZcams would take very kindly to that categorization.
Very sad. Love UK's Tube systems.
me too!