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King's Cross fire: Survivors' tales 30 years on King's Cross fire: 'I was screaming in pain'
(about 2 hours later)
On the 30th anniversary of a fire on the Underground which killed 31 people, survivors remember how the horror unfolded. In its 124-year history there had never been mass loss of life in a fire on the London Underground. But on 18 November 1987 that would change, as a flashover - a sudden and rapid spread of fire caused by smoke or fumes igniting - claimed the lives of 31 people at King's Cross. Some of those who survived have been recalling the events of that night.
On 18 November 1987 Daemonn Brody was on his way to see the Regent Street Christmas lights. Daemonn Brody, who had moved to London five days earlier to start a new job, was on his way to see the Regent Street Christmas lights.
He had moved to London five days earlier to start a new job. As the self-confessed "computer geek" waited for a Victoria Line train at King's Cross Tube station, he realised passengers were being evacuated.
But as the young, self-described "computer geek" waited for a Victoria Line train at King's Cross station, he realised people were being evacuated. He joined them, heading up an escalator back into the ticket hall from the underground platform.
Smoking had been banned in all subsurface stations since a fire at Oxford Circus in 1984.
But passengers often lit cigarettes on escalators on their way out.
A match discarded by one such passenger is thought to be what caused a small fire beneath escalator four, coming up from the Piccadilly Line platforms, at around 19:30 GMT.
The blaze was fuelled by grease and dust which had accumulated inside the escalators.
It spread until smoke began to spew from under the steps and out into the main concourse.
Mr Brody went back into the ticket hall from the evacuated platform via another escalator.
"There were a lot of people running about, and there was definitely commotion," he said."There were a lot of people running about, and there was definitely commotion," he said.
"A police officer was shouting, 'Get out, get out'. It was really turning panicky." "A police officer was shouting: 'Get out, get out'. It was really turning panicky."
Quarter of an hour after the first reports of flames, and just three minutes after Stewart Button and his colleagues arrived in the first fire engine, a fireball ripped through the ticket hall. As Mr Brody walked across the ticket hall he was floored by the fireball that shot up from below, and he realised his back and legs were on fire.
Mr Button said: "You heard a dull 'woomph' sound and when I turned around, you could see a thick black wall of smoke."
The flashover - a sudden, rapid spread of fire, caused by smoke or fumes igniting - destroyed everything in its path, gutting the ticket hall and escalators.
It hit Mr Brody's back as he walked across the ticket hall and he immediately knew he was on fire.
"I hit the deck," he said."I hit the deck," he said.
"Dropping to the floor was a mix of instincts and just not being able to stand up as the ticket hall filled with smoke.""Dropping to the floor was a mix of instincts and just not being able to stand up as the ticket hall filled with smoke."
Mr Brody crawled along the floor, unable to breathe as the intensely hot air burned his throat. Mr Brody crawled along the ground, unable to breathe as the intensely hot air burned his throat.
He remembers worrying that no one would recognise his body if he was killed. He remembers worrying that no-one would recognise his body: "I was upset - I knew I was dying and that nobody would know I was down there."
"I was upset - I knew I was dying and that nobody would know I was down there," he recalled. But he somehow found his way to the steps at the bottom of the south side of the exit to Euston Road.
Mr Brody somehow found his way to the steps at the bottom of the south side of the exit to Euston Road. "I could hardly walk and was screaming in pain, very, very loudly," he said.
From there he was helped to safety by members of the public.From there he was helped to safety by members of the public.
They threw water on his burns as he screamed in pain and stared at the skin that was hanging off his hands. They threw water on his burns as he stared at the skin that was hanging off his hands.
He said: "I could hardly walk and was screaming in pain very, very loudly. The fire, which had actually begun beneath Escalator Four around a quarter of an hour earlier, at about 19:30 GMT, is suspected to have been caused by a match discarded by a passenger. (Although smoking had been banned in all subsurface stations since a fire at Oxford Circus in 1984, people often lit cigarettes on their way up the escalators on their way out of the station.)
"I had no idea what was going on, I just wanted to be knocked out." Fuelled by a build-up of grease and dust inside the wooden escalator, the fire spread until smoke began to spew from under the steps and out into the main concourse.
Sophie Tarassenko was in the area meeting a friend when she saw the fire engines. It was at about this point that firefighter Stewart Button and his colleagues arrived in the first fire engine to attend the scene. 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.
She had no idea her 25-year-old brother Ivan - whom she describes as a "laid back, happy go lucky chap" - was inside. Mr Button said: "You heard a dull 'woomph' sound and when I turned around, you could see a thick black wall of smoke."
He had been on his way to Notting Hill for a band rehearsal when he was killed by the inferno. Station officer Colin Townsley, the only firefighter killed in the tragedy, was caught up in the flashover.
"You cry a lot, for a long time," Ms Tarassenko said: When Mr Button and other colleagues found him in the tunnel they carried him out of the ticket hall, and paramedics tried to resuscitate him on the street above.
"It's a shocking thing and every time something like that happens - whether it's Grenfell, or a terrorist incident - you think of all the people who are getting that news."
More than 150 firefighters spent the hours following the flashover risking their own lives in the intense heat.
They helped trapped and injured people reach paramedics on the street above.
They had to resort to spraying each other with water to keep cool as the heat reached temperatures up to 600C (1,112F).
"The problem we faced was that the St Pancras entrance seemed to be directly fed up from the Piccadilly Line escalators," Mr Button said.
"So as the trains were moving through, pushing the air up through that main concourse area, the heat was intensified."
"When a train started passing through, all you could do was lay flat on the floor, cover your ears, and just hang on and wait for it to pass."
Station Officer Townsley died after being caught up in the flashover.
When Mr Button and others found him in the tunnel they carried him out of the ticket hall and paramedics tried to resuscitate him on the street above.
Mr Button said: "Although it was devastating it didn't really hit you then.Mr Button said: "Although it was devastating it didn't really hit you then.
"He was in good hands with the LAS at the top and there was still screaming down below so back in again we went." "He was in good hands and there was still screaming down below, so back in again we went."
But he has since felt deeply affected by the loss of Officer Townsley, who was found next to an injured passenger. The temperatures underground reached up to 600C, with firefighters having to resort to spraying each other with water to keep cool.
Some 150 would spend the following hours helping trapped and injured people reach paramedics on the street above.
"The problem we faced was that the St Pancras entrance seemed to be directly fed up from the Piccadilly Line escalators," Mr Button said.
"So as the trains were moving through, pushing the air up through that main concourse area, the heat was intensified.
"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."
Above the ground, Sophie Tarassenko had been in the area meeting a friend when she saw the fire engines.
She had no idea her 25-year-old brother Ivan, who she describes as a "laid-back, happy-go-lucky chap", was inside the Tube station.
Ivan Tarassenko, who had been on his way to Notting Hill for a band rehearsal, would be among the 31 people who perished in the blaze.
Reflecting on her loss, Ms Tarassenko said: "You cry a lot, for a long time.
"It's a shocking thing and every time something like that happens - whether it's Grenfell, or a terrorist incident - you think of all the people who are getting that news."
Mr Button is also deeply affected by the death of his colleague, who was found next to an injured passenger.
He said: "As a fireman you are very often going out and you deal with those people that are casualties and you do it professionally, and you don't know those people.He said: "As a fireman you are very often going out and you deal with those people that are casualties and you do it professionally, and you don't know those people.
"This was different because it was one of your own, one of your brothers.""This was different because it was one of your own, one of your brothers."
Sir Desmond Fennell's report into the fire said all the evidence suggested Station Officer Townsley "was overcome by smoke and fumes while trying to help the burned passenger… a heroic act." Sir Desmond Fennell's report into the fire said all the evidence suggested Mr Townsley had been "overcome by smoke and fumes while trying to help the burned passenger" in what he described as a "heroic act".
King's Cross fire: As it happened The public inquiry Sir Desmond chaired triggered huge changes for both firefighting and London Underground's safety procedures.
16:00 to 18:30 - As usual for one of the busiest stations in the capital, around 100,000 people pass safely through the station A smoking ban was enforced, wooden escalators were removed, staff were trained in rigorous fire safety plans, and, more recently, communications between Underground staff and emergency services have been greatly improved.
Firefighters' equipment and uniforms have also undergone drastic changes.
Protective gear worn by firefighters at King's Cross included yellow plastic leggings that melted under intense heat and red rubber gloves, which gave limited movement.
Today, firefighters' clothing is made of the lightest, most protective materials possible, London Fire Brigade said.
Fire timeline
16:00 to 18:30 - About 100,000 people pass safely through King's Cross, one of the busiest stations in the capital
c.19:29 - First reports of a small fire and smoke on Escalator Fourc.19:29 - First reports of a small fire and smoke on Escalator Four
19:36 - London Fire Brigade despatches crews from three fire stations19:36 - London Fire Brigade despatches crews from three fire stations
c.19:39 - Police officers start evacuating people c.19:39 - Police officers start evacuating passengers
c.19:42 - Police tell booking office staff to leave, and they do so around a minute later c.19:42 - Police tell booking office staff to leave, which they do about a minute later - in the confusion no-one alerted those in the bureau de change or public lavatories
In the confusion no one alerted those in the bureau de change or public lavatories 19:42 - First firefighting crew arrives, led by station officer Colin Townsley
19:42 First firefighting crew arrives, led by Station Officer Colin Townsley 19:43 - Mr Townsley goes to look at the fire before returning to the ticket hall
19:43 Officer Townsley goes to look at the fire before returning to the ticket hall 19:45 - The flashover rips up the top of the escalator and through the ticket hall
19:45 The flashover rips up the top of the escalator and through the ticket hall. The precise time can be documented because the severe heat melted the wiring of the digital clock at the top of the escalators c.19:59 - First ambulance arrives
c.19:59 First ambulance arrives 20:16 - London Ambulance Service declares major accident to alert hospitals
20:16 London Ambulance Service declares major accident to alert hospitals 21:48 - Fire brought under control
21:48 Fire brought under control Source: Public inquiry into the King's Cross fire
Source: Public inquiry into the fire, published in 1988 Ms Tarassenko finds some solace in the improvements, even though they took some time to be implemented.
The 1987 blaze and the subsequent public inquiry triggered huge changes for both firefighting and London Underground's safety procedures. She said: "[London Underground] were slow [to make improvements] in the late 80s, early 90s, but I feel far more confident than I used to in the Underground."
A smoking ban was enforced, wooden escalators were removed, staff were trained in rigorous fire safety plans, and, more recently, communications between Underground staff and emergency services has been greatly improved. The efforts to improve London Underground since 1987 mean it is now considered one of the safest metro systems in the world, according to managing director Mark Wild.
Firefighters' equipment and uniforms have also undergone drastic changes. "There isn't a month goes by in my job that we don't reference the King's Cross fire," he said.
Uniform worn by firefighters at King's Cross included yellow plastic leggings which melted under intense heat and red rubber gloves which gave limited movement. "It had such a phenomenal and beneficial effect on the organisation: so out of a desperate tragedy good things have actually come."
Today, their clothing is made of the lightest, most protective materials possible, London Fire Brigade said.
Ms Tarassenko finds solace in the improvements, even though they took some time to be implemented.
She said: "[London Underground] were slow [to make improvements] in the late eighties, early nineties, but I feel far more confident than I used to in the Underground."
Despite being happy with the transport network now, Ms Tarassenko said she had to fight many "needless battles" to get to the truth of what happened to her brother.
Speaking more broadly of inquiries into other disasters such Hillsborough and Grenfell, she added: "These deaths are senseless and you want something good to come out."
The money and resources poured into improving London Underground since 1987 means it is now considered one of the safest metro systems in the world, according to one of its top bosses.
Managing director Mark Wild added: "There isn't a month goes by in my job that we don't reference the King's Cross fire.
"It had such a phenomenal and beneficial effect on the organisation - so out of a desperate tragedy, good things have actually come."
Survivors and victims' families will attend memorial events this weekend.Survivors and victims' families will attend memorial events this weekend.
But Mr Brody plans to spend Saturday at home with friends.But Mr Brody plans to spend Saturday at home with friends.
He said he has always felt awkward and uncomfortable at anniversary events because others there have lost loved ones. He said he had always felt awkward and uncomfortable at anniversary events because others there have lost loved ones.
"I'm 50 years old but I still struggle as if I was 20 - that guilt of being a survivor.""I'm 50 years old but I still struggle as if I was 20 - that guilt of being a survivor."