Summerland survivor recalls horror of fire disaster 50 years on from island tragedy
A Dromore woman who survived a deadly fire on the Isle of Man nearly 50 years ago has recalled how her mother pulled her to safety as crowds battled to escape the blaze.
On 2 August 1973, Summerland leisure centre in Douglas was destroyed when a discarded cigarette ignited a kiosk next to the centre.
The kiosk collapsed and Summerland was set alight.
Thousands of people were inside at the time as the flames engulfed the building. 50 people died and many more were injured.
Ruth McQuillan-Wilson was visiting the island with her family on holiday, just after finishing her first year at primary school.
Nearly half a century on, she has spoken to UTV about the event.
"I remember seeing the smoke come up through and thinking, 'what's this?'," she said.
"I was on my own, basically, mum was lost to me, dad was lost to me.
"And I can remember the people's legs, they were so much taller and I was getting pushed about this way and that way. I think I hesitated a good wee while because I didn't know where to go or what to do and that's how I got so badly burnt."
It was her first time visiting the Isle of Man - a holiday she said she couldn't stop telling her new school friends about in the run up to it.
However, the horror of that day is something Ruth could not speak about for years. Her father Sammy did not want to events of that day to be spoken about in the family home with Ruth and her younger sister around.
Her father received burns in the fire which tore through all floors of the building.
Sammy was split from his wife during the chaos.
Hours had passed until he was told to go to the hospital for burns to his forehead and his hands. It was when he stepped into an ambulance, a moment of chance or fate took place.
"They put him in the ambulance," said Ruth.
"There was a woman in it and she was looking at him. He was just completely blank and she said, 'Sammy, do you not know me?'."
"He didn't - he was just in so much shock and he looked and he looked.
"Then reality dawned and it was my mum. He just didn't recognise her. He said to her, 'where's Ruth?'. He didn't think I'd made it."
Ruth was on her way to the hospital at the time, as she described it, as being 'in hysterics'.
Her legs were so badly burnt that they stuck to the plastic seats of the police car she was travelling in.
It wasn't until 2012 when she could visit the Isle of Man again for the first time since the tragedy.
She has subsequently visited and bonded with those on the island and those who were involved in the disaster.
It has brought great comfort to her on each visit.
"I always say I'm not Manx by birth but Manx in my heart. The people of the Isle of Man really took me to their hearts. I cried on peoples' shoulders and we cried together.
Ruth has written two books about her experience - Made in Summerland and The Silence of Summerland. She told UTV she used the writing journey as a coping mechanism to deal with the horror of what she witnessed and was part of.
The 50th anniversary is on 2nd of August.
On what was a dark day for the Isle of Man, Ruth is determined to keep shining a light on what happened.
In memory of those who died and in an effort to ensure tragedies like this are prevented from happening again.