Isle of Man's Chief Minister praises emergency services who 'ran toward' the Summerland fire

The emergency services have been praised for how they reacted to the Summerland fire, by the Isle of Man's Chief Minister.

Thanking them for preventing 'many more casualties' by their actions, Alfred Cannan presented senior representatives of the Emergency and Health Services with a Scroll of Recognition to formally recognise their organisation's response.

Retired firefighters who were present at the Summerland fire. Credit: Isle of Man Government/Matt Mosur

During the presentation on 31 July, he said: "It is widely acknowledged that the Island’s response to the developing incident prevented many more casualties.   

"And that is why we are here today: to pay tribute to and recognise the efforts of the Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service and health and care professionals. 

"Your people ran towards the incident - tackling the blaze, helping many to escape, and supporting and comforting those caught up in the horror.

"In the days and weeks that followed, they cared for the injured and bereaved, and helped deal with the aftermath. 

"I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank your organisations for the actions of your members."

He also went on to describe the scale of the rescue effort by emergency forces including:

  • The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service mobilising 93 of its 106 firefighters to Summerland, as well as all 16 of its fire engines to help fight the blaze and assist the evacuation effort. 

  • Water was pumped from the nearby Derby Castle baths, and even from the sea – in a desperate attempt to try and control the blaze. A massive logistical exercise undertaken in the most challenging of situations.  

  • Isle of Man Constabulary police officers from all over the Island responded to the call, including those off-duty at the time - it was reported that Douglas Police Station received approximately 28,000 phone calls from families, both on and off-Island.

  • Health and care professionals, like their counterparts in the fire and police services, were called upon to speak to relatives in the most difficult of circumstances, and to deal with an overwhelming number of urgent enquiries – some 27,000 calls were said to have been made to the hospital in the 36 hours after the fire. 

Emergency service leaders were given a Scroll of Recognition. Credit: Isle of Man Government/Matt Mosur

Chief Constable Mr Russell Foster was awarded for the Isle of Man Constabulary, Chief Fire Officer Mr Mark Christian, and the Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mr John Murtagh for the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service and head of the Isle of Man Ambulance Mr Will Bellamy, and the Chief Executive of Manx Care, Ms Teresa Cope for representatives of the Health Service.

The Chief Minister also apologised for the first time to the survivors and victims on 18 July.

In a statement to the House of Keys, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said: "I am sorry. Sorry for the pain and suffering felt by everyone affected by the fire and sorry for the failings that could have prevented such a tragedy."