kings cross fire 1987 corporate manslaughter

Fire or smoke detection had never been installed. And soon, success! Arson had been ruled out. (Twenty years later, following several suicide bombs on London Underground trains, the same communications issues were raised). Do you question the way that you do things? The smoke could be seen coming out of the station . The immediate cause of the fire was a discarded match falling onto wooden escalators with an accumulation of debris underneath and in the escalator tracks. Communications with the general public were woefully inadequate throughout the incident the Public Address system was not used and many passengers were evacuated into the line of fire. Indeed, many people believe that the possibility of such a disaster has diminished over the last 20 years. Due to the history of fires on the Underground, the London Fire Brigade wrote to the Operations Director in August 1985, requesting that the Brigade be called immediately to any fire on the underground railway network. On the evening of 18 November 1987, a fire at Kings Cross London Underground train station killed 30 people, including one of the first fire-officers on the scene. At the end of the 20th century, several major disasters occurred, and the Inquiries held into those disasters found that corporate failings were to blame. As fires were clearly not unusual, you may have expected a robust approach to incident response. Minutes later, the fireball blasted up into the ticket hall - the precise time of 19:45 can be documented because the severe heat melted the wiring of the digital clock at the top of the escalators. A publicinquiry by Sir Desmond Fennell published in November 1988, made 157 recommendations including: More than 150 firefighters and 30 fire engines were called to a blaze at King's Cross station at on the evening of 18 November 1987. The King's Cross fire that claimed the lives of 31 people lead to better fire safety regulation and helped companies like Wrightstyle gain a better understanding of an unknown dynamic in how a small fire can become a conflagration. Railway accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=King%27s_Cross_fire&oldid=1150701838, 20th century in the London Borough of Camden, November 1987 events in the United Kingdom, Transport in the London Borough of Camden, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lit match discarded on wooden escalator; rapid spread due to, This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 17:19. Northern Star Business Awards: All the winners from this years ceremony, Exclusive: Outcry as wind body creates roadblock to oil worker skills passport, EnerMech appoints Spenceley as OIM and asset management director, Last call for UK evacuation from Port Sudan, Shell is selling its stake in Australian gas project to BP, Impact raises cash to stay in the game offshore Namibia. [17] On a television program about the fire, an official described King's Cross underground station's layout as "an efficient furnace". [33] A model of King's Cross station was built at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment using computer simulation software; this showed the flames lying down along the floor of the escalator rather than burning vertically before producing a jet of flame into the ticket hall. Before the Act, it was very difficult for companies and organisations to be held responsible for deaths caused byserious safety failures. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. There were 31 people killed after fire broke out in a machine room under one of King's Cross station's wooden escalators on 18 November, 1987. A further person died later in hospital. In its 124-year history there had never been mass loss of life in a fire on the London Underground. (Ive written elsewhere on how to manage. Arguably, theres still more that needs to change. In addition, the running track of the escalator had not been cleaned since the 1940s and was covered in grease and filled with rubbish. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. A small part of a lift motor room was damaged by fire. While the events of July 6, 1988, will be well known to the majority of people in the Scottish north-east, there is now a whole generation entering the oil&gas industry who were not even born at the time of the disaster. Senior Underground managers did not liaise early with the Brigade, or offer their detailed knowledge of the Station layout. Under the regime introduced after Piper Alpha, overall responsibility offshore for the safe operation of the installation lies with the duty holder, who will usually be the owner or operator of the installation. [56], The Nick Lowe song "Who Was That Man?" Apr 7. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Chartered Human Factors Professional The management remained of the view that fires were inevitable on the oldest and most extensive underground system in the world. Witnesses recalled seeing a firefighter wearing a white helmet just before the flashover telling passengers to get out. The fire began at approximately 19:30 on 18 November 1987 at King's Cross St Pancras tube station, a major interchange on the London Underground. So how did it start? Fennell didnt hold back in his trenchant criticisms of London Transport. 2023 BBC. The firefighters underground had no means of communicating with their colleagues on the surface. In the last 30 years, Ive heard this conclusion echoed in many other disasters. At least his panel didnt need to linger on the question of No Smoking. The King's Cross fire claimed the lives of 31 people including a senior ranked firefighter and seriously injured many more at King's Cross station. We should call it what it is: Its corporate manslaughter. Mr Button said: "Although it was devastating it didn't really hit you then. A remembrance mass was held early on at the nearby Church of the Blessed Sacrament. Officers and Detectives are investigating the source of the call, and anyone with information should contact Detective Sergeant Jason Celmer at 714-990-7741 or [email protected]. It is unfortunate that this was not the pervading view in the organisation, otherwise the disaster may have been averted. They saw a fire about the size of a large cardboard box, and planned to fight it with a water jet and men with breathing apparatus. [38], The publication of the report led to resignations of senior management of both London Underground and London Regional Transport (LRT), including Keith Bright, the chairman of LRT. We continue to look for ways to improve customer service. "When a train started passing through, all you could do was lie flat on the floor, cover your ears, and just hang on and wait for it to pass.". PC Stephen Hanson, British Transport Police officer speaking at the subsequent inquiry. But no amount of wind in the wake of train movement produces an upward force of more than eight miler per hour; too small a gust to make much difference. All those trains had recently called at Kings Cross, unwittingly to allow some of the suicide bombers to board. There were many lost opportunities to exchange vital information between London Underground and the Fire Brigade; as well as between the fire, police and ambulance services. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Piper Alpha was a catalyst for change to the health and safety regime offshore. Mr Button is also deeply affected by the death of his colleague, who was found next to an injured passenger. Read about our approach to external linking. Such investigations will be lengthy, intrusive and damaging to businesses. Search and salvage operations continued throughout the night. Could the artificial pumping of air through a full-sized tunnel work, researchers wondered? Although smoking had been banned underground in 1985, it was still common practice for smokers to light-up on the escalators on their way out of the station. However, holding corporations to account has not been easy. The nearly-life-expired Northern line escalators were replaced as well; the Northern line station reopened, completing the return to normal operation, on 5 March 1989. The safety case must demonstrate that the operator and duty holders have an adequate safety management system; that they have identified major accident hazards, have assessed the risks from those hazards, have established adequate audit and reporting arrangements and have taken the measures necessary to reduce the risks to people to as low as reasonably practicable. Disasters like the Kings Cross Fire are foreseeable; complacency and assumptions can kill; you get the system that you design and staff have to be prepared to respond, should the worst happen. Finally, Id like to note that the Inquiry recognised the dedication of response teams, especially the London Fire Brigade: It is clear that a large number of members of the London Fire Brigade behaved with conspicuous courage and devotion to duty during the disaster in which they lost a very brave officer, Station Officer Townsley. London Underground was strongly criticised for its attitude toward fires; staff were complacent because there had never been a fatal fire on the system, and had been given little or no training to deal with fires or evacuation. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? A test was conducted where lit matches were dropped on the escalator to see if ignition would occur. Radio equipment used by British Transport Police to be compatible with those of the Brigade. The Inquiry proposed a new, proactive approach to safety management. As for the most difficult body to identify, known as Body 115, it took until January 2004 to discover that he was a rough sleeper: 73-year-old Alexander Fallon, late of Falkirk. This burning alone does not cause alarm. It seems to me that the staff were totally unprepared to meet the disaster which happened that night and had to do the best they could in the circumstances. Up to a quarter of a million visitors or commuters pass through Kings Cross every day, making it one of Londons busiest interchanges. London Underground dates from 1863. Its interesting to read in the final investigation report how the Inquiry concentrated upon the system in place which allowed the disaster to occur rather than seeking to make personal judgements upon the people involved. London Thames News, originally broadcast on 10 November 1988, following the launch of the Fennell report into the Kings Cross disaster: London BBC News, broadcast 30 years after the Kings Cross Fire: By entering your email you will be notified of any new articles on humanfactors101.com. What is Corporate Manslaughter and How Does it Work? The inquiry determined that the fire had been started by a lit match being dropped onto the escalator. Marking another step towards achieving their sustainability goals, Knauf has changed the pallet hoods used on its laminated boards to use 30% more recycled content. He joined them, heading up an escalator back into the ticket hall from the underground platform. As the superheated gases pooled along the ceiling of the escalator shaft, the layers of paint began absorbing the heat.

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