Chief Minister Allan Bell has recalled his memories of the Summerland fire tragedy.
He was in Ramsey at the time, and accompanied a friend, a registered blood donor, to hospital to offer his services. It was with ‘shock and disbelief’ he saw the extent of the fire on the TV news.
He was concerned for the son of an accountant he was working for. Mr Bell had got the son a job on the fifth floor at Summerland – where most of the fatalities happened.
‘It just so happened he was on his tea break so he was on the ground floor and managed to escape unscathed.’
Mr Bell, who attended Friday’s 40th anniversary service, said it was an ‘absolutely horrendous experience’ for everyone involved, and would stay forever embedded in the collective memory residents.
He said the island’s tourism industry had ‘never really recovered.’
