1. The King’s Cross Fire
London, England
1987

2. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
King’s Cross Station
1987
Model of the Station
Busiest station in the subway system
250,000 passengers per day
100,000 passengers during rush hour
5 different lines pass through
Original station built in 1852
Subway came in 1863
London subway is oldest in the world
Subway is known as “The Tube”
(Fennell, 1988)
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

3. Escalator System at King’s Cross
Ticketing Hall
(Fennell, 1988)
Escalator System at King’s Cross
(Fennell, 1988)
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

4. Escalator 5 Before the Fire
Escalator Details
vertical rise – 17.2 m (56.4 ft)
incline angle – 30°
speed – 32.5 m/min (106.5 ft/min)
steps, risers and sides made of wood
travel time – 1 min
Escalator 5 Before the Fire
(Fennell, 1988)
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

5. Escalators After the Fire
Fire Detection
None
Fire Suppression
CO2 Extinguishers
Manually operated sprinkler
(Fennell, 2008)
Escalators After the Fire
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

6. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
Actual Time of Events
7: fire starts
7: fire reported
7: escalator stopped
7: witness sees 3” flame
(Fennell, 1988)
Fire after 7 min. 54 sec.
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

7. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
Actual Time of Events
7: escalators 5 & 6 stopped
7: LFB receives call
(Fennell, 1988)
Fire after 8 min. 41 sec.
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

8. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
(Fennell, 1988)
(Fennell, 1988)
Fire Underneath
at 7 min. 11 sec.
Running Track
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

9. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
Actual Time of Events
7: lower mechanical room inspected
7: light smoke at station entrance
7: upper mechanical room inspected
7:42/43---LFB arrives
7: flashover occurs
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

10. Escalator 4, start of fire damage area
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

11. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
(Fennell, 1988)
(Fennell, 1988)
Ceiling Damage
Ticket Office Damage
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

12. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
(Fennell, 1988)
Ticketing Hall
(Fennell, 1988)
Top of Escalators
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08

13. Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08
(Fennell, 1988)
Scale Model Test of “Trench Effect”
Fellows, King's Cross Fire, CE 808, Spring 08