Fire expert critical of Summerland fire disaster but does not see it as 'an injustice'

• John Webb speaking about his research into Summerland which he conducted just days after the fire

The last surviving member of the Summerland fire research team says the 'misadventure’ ruling given to those who died in 1973 is a "strange verdict".

John Webb was part of a team of experts who went into the building on the Isle of Man four days after the fire, working with a team from the Fire Research Station in 1973 to find the cause of the blaze.

While taking photographs of what remained of the building, the team discovered that a key piece of evidence was missing.

John said: "Basically it is us following the trail of the fire and why it spread so rapidly.

"There were no detailed drawings into how the site was constructed because it had been changed at the last minute".

The outer wall material had been changed from concrete, to a metal cladding called galbestos, a material that was used to save money, but was also highly flammable.

"It surprised all of us, particularly the chief fire officer", John explains.

"That's when we realised that particular alteration wasn't referred back to him or the fire service and it should have been".

In his view, the factors that led to the tragedy were vast, and the issues started with the original design.

"There were a lack of escape routes and lack of staff training. They should have sounded the alarm when the fire was first spotted and clearing the building", John said.

A commission into the fire was published just six months after the disaster and included findings from John’s team, yet he was surprised, the conclusions led to little accountability.

He said: "If it had been better run, it was a reasonably safe building had staff been trained better".

He recalled the report noted "there were no villains", something he believed was right, adding "it was more ignorance than villainy, it wasn't deliberate".

A verdict of misadventure was given to those who died, something campaigners want changed.

He said: "I understand that the survivors and families of survivors feel the misadventure verdict condemned their families and friends who died because they went into a building that wasn't apparently safe.

"If that's what the coroner meant, that is a very strange verdict. Looking back I can only be astonished that only 50 people died".

The former fire officer was critical of the building materials used at the time, and questioned how much training was given to the staff but he wouldn't describe the fire as an 'injustice'.

"We are all looking back with hindsight, with a much greater knowledge of what building materials do and a lack of training when the building was in use", he said.

The disaster, which occurred on 2 August 1973, was started by three young boys who were smoking in a disused kiosk, up against the main Summerland complex.

A total of 50 people died, and 80 more were seriously injured, after the fire spread through the island's leisure complex.

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