On November 18th 1987 a return home from work became a nightmare journey for many commuters on London’s subway. A fire occurred at one of the cities busiest stations, it is the worst fire in the history of the London underground railway system. 30 commuters and one firefighter were killed with a much higher number injured.
Kings Cross has two mainline railway stations and has several intersecting subway lines. During the afternoon people reported having smelt smoke while travelling on one of the escalators, although it was reported by many people no action was taken because no smoke was visible. At 7.50 pm flames were first spotted beneath the escalator. By then any preventative action was too late. Smoke quickly filled the station and the fire rapidly spread. When the fire and rescue services arrived they found a scene of general chaos and panic at street level. The subterranean fire generated heat levels that were impossible to survive.
It was later discovered after a full investigation into what went wrong on that day was that a build up of grease and other debris beneath the escalator had helped to fuel the fire. But the exact cause of the fire or what caused the original ignition was not known and has never been discovered. It may have started with a discarded cigarette not being first extinguished.
The chairman of the London Regional Transport as well as the chairman of the London Underground both resigned from their posts in the aftermath of this tragedy. The negligent maintenance was their responsibility and said to be the prime cause of the fire. When the damage was repaired the equivalent to $465 million was spent on much needed safety improvements.
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