Philip Antony Townsend, 70, and John James McCartney, 60, both died from smoke inhalation after they were unable to escape from the Gordon Working Men’s Club in Morecambe
Panicked punters at a working men’s club found themselves trapped inside when a devastating blaze erupted after a gas canister was set alight by a regular, an inquest has been told.
Philip Antony Townsend, 70, and John James McCartney, 60, both perished from smoke inhalation after becoming unable to flee the Gordon Working Men’s Club in Morecambe on the afternoon of October 9, 2019.
The venue, situated on Springfield Street, occupied a building belonging to Gillnell – a London-based property investment firm run by Blake and Petronella Weltman, which also holds assets in Burnley, Nelson and Barrow-in-Furness.
Heather Goffin held the licence whilst her son Callum served behind the bar and was the sole director of the limited company operating the club.
The jury was informed that an inquest into the deaths of John, nicknamed Johnny, and Philip, known as Tony T, had commenced in 2023 but was later postponed. The coroner instructed jurors “not to read anything into that” and clarified that inquests can be delayed “for all kinds of reasons” reports Lancs Live.
The court heard that the inferno began when Johnny, who also served as the club’s cleaner, sparked his lighter beside a gas canister powering a heater purchased from Aldi.
Detective Chief Inspector Abigail Finch-Hall revealed that Johnny had a tendency to fiddle with a lighter, making flicking gestures with it. She continued: “Witnesses saw him doing that and we believe he has opened the gas canister and used the lighter to ignite it. He has then picked up the canister and tried to get out of the building but it was on fire and he was pulled back.”
In a statement, bar regular Julie Galbraith, who was present on the day of the fire, described Johnny, who was born in Scotland and lived at Albert Road in Morecambe, as “a character who would pretend to climb up walls and make weird noises” and added: “He was a good soul but did daft things.
“I’d seen him at least 12 times clicking his lighter near to the top of the gas bottle,” Ms Galbraith said. “He sometimes danced around it, clicking his lighter, and I told him on more than one occasion that he was going to blow himself up, or the rest of us, and his reply was ‘I forget things’.
“I arrived at the club at around 2.45pm. Tony T was sat in the corner. I saw a flash coming from the next room near to the entrance door, I saw Johnny stood next to the heater gas bottle, I could see there was a ring of fire around the bottle, and the flames seemed to be hovering above the carpet.
“Johnny was trying to stamp at the flames. I screamed at him ‘it’s going to….’ but before I could say ‘blow up’ flames shot up and Johnny was engulfed. I then heard Callum shout ‘everybody out, clear the building’.”
CCTV footage of the blaze, shown to jurors, revealed how smoke engulfed the club in under 60 seconds after the gas canister caught fire. As terrified punters rushed for the exit, Tony, a Scouser, stumbled and was pulled clear of the flames.
But he then got back on his feet and headed back towards where the gas canister had ignited. The footage goes black before a brilliant white flash shows the fire has reached the camera’s position.
Denise Smith described Johnny as “a lovely man and a joker who would try to entertain everyone”. “He always had a lighter in his hand and constantly fiddled with it,” she added.
“He had a trick where he spun it round his fingers before clicking it on. He was dragging the canister towards the door, the flames didn’t seem that big at first but when he got the canister to the door it seemed to flare up in a fireball as high as the ceiling.”
Another club patron, George Ramshaw, said he had heard someone else say “Johnny, what the f*** are you doing?” before witnessing Johnny “leaning over and flicking his lighter”.
“Then I saw a great big flame shoot out, there was a flash and masses of black smoke were billowing out,” Mr Ramshaw, who uses a walking stick, said in a statement. “I grabbed Johnny and pulled him backwards. after I’d taken him five or six paces he fell to the floor. I was trying to get up the ramp but we couldn’t both fit on the ramp at the same time.”
DCI Finch-Hall outlined the “unusual” configuration of the fire exit which consisted of two doors with a narrow alcove between them. “It would open to a 30 degree angle and within that recess is where Mr Townsend was located,” DCI Finch-Hall explained.
“To operate the door you would have to press the bar, enter that recess area to pull yourself around to pull some bolts down, but to open the door the outer door would have to be opened from the outside alleyway first. You will hear evidence around the appropriateness of those doors.”
DCI Finch-Hall revealed that police had organised for a specialist from London to examine the club alongside an evaluation conducted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Officers were also unable to locate a fire risk assessment for the premises.
“The external double doors couldn’t be opened from the inside, ” she revealed. “We’ve all seen from the CCTV how difficult it was for people to get out, not withstand that Mr Goffin, who worked in that club, was unable to open the doors.”
On the tragic day of the fire, the outer doors were shut, trapping Tony, a resident of Parliament Street in Morecambe, inside the building. His body was later discovered by firefighters, wedged between the two doors.
Johnny was found at the top of the ramp leading into the snooker area of the club. The remaining patrons, along with Callum Goffin, managed to escape through a door in the kitchen at the rear of the club.
Employees of Gordon’s recounted that they “knew to unlock the doors” at the beginning of each shift to ensure they could be opened from the inside. The doors were frequently left ajar to allow customers to step outside for a smoke or to dispose of rubbish in the bins.
The ongoing inquest, taking place at County Hall in Preston and expected to last five days, continues.
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