Summerland 50th Anniversary: The injustice felt by families of the Summerland fire
The Cheetham family visited the Isle of Man every year for their annual holiday.
At 16 year's old, Heather has fond memories of her visit to the island in 1971.
This was the year a new leisure complex had opened on Douglas promenade, filled with entertainment and activities.
Heather recalled playing crazy golf with her sister June on the outside terrace, while her parents enjoyed the bingo indoors.
Summerland soon became the highlight of the holiday.
Two years later, Heather's parents and sister had made the annual trip to the island.
Heather made the decision to stay at home with her newlywed husband, Reg.
On the evening of 2 August, the pair were watching TV at their home in Liverpool when a newsflash appeared saying 'Fire in Summerland, Isle of Man'.
Heather rushed to round to their neighbours to call the guesthouse where her family were staying.
They answered, and said: "'June, where are you?'".
"It was at that moment I knew they weren't coming home", said Heather.
"It was dreadful. You expect your parents to go on holiday and come home. You don't expect them to go away and never see them again".
Reg said: "It was a night from hell to be honest with you, we just sat up all night".
The Summerland Fire Commission
A year after the Summerland fire, a public inquiry into the disaster was published covering factors that may have led to the fire, and why it spread so quickly.
'The Summerland Fire Commission' contained various examples showing how little consideration was given to fire safety in the early design stages, through to the management of the building.
These included a lack of fire escapes, the decision to cover the building in a highly flammable material called Oroglas, and the use of softwood instead of concrete.
Despite this, the report did not single out any one person or group to be held responsible for the fire.
None of the architects, nor the operators were ever specifically held accountable for their decisions.
Instead, the Commission said there were 'many human errors and failures', with 'too much reliance upon an old boy network' that led to 'very ill-defined and poor communication'.
In the end, it concluded: 'there were no villains'.
Dr Ian Phillips has been studying Summerland for more than 30 years, publishing some of the most comprehensive research into the fire.
When asked about the Commission's conclusions, he said: "I was particularly surprised because 'no villains' means this could not have been foreseen, but Summerland was deadly because of its poor building design and poor building management.
"In my opinion it could have been foreseen".
When asked who he thought was responsible for the fire, he said, "I would allocate the most blame to the architects, probably around 35%.
"I would then allocate about 25% to Trust House Forte, and then 25% to the Isle of Man authorities such as Douglas Corporation and the Isle of Man local government board.
"The Chief Fire Officer also had some responsibilities as well.
"He knew that the Oroglas was combustible, but did not object to the plans."
Heather and Reg are one of a number of families who continue to feel what they describe as the injustice around Summerland.
Heather said: "Because it was in the Isle of Man all the details, the inquiry and everything else was pushed under the carpet, and that makes me angry."
Reg added: "Nobody was blamed, now we have corporate manslaughter, we didn't have that law then, if we did it might have been a different story.
"But somebody was to blame, they knew it could happen and it did... and they got away with it."
ITV has attempted to reach out to any remaining architects for comment, but have been unable to do so.
ITV Granada Reports will be continuing to air a number of special reports leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Summerland fire.
The 50th anniversary of the Summerland disaster is on 2 August 2023.
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