Haunting new video footage showing devastated Manchester in the immediate aftermath of the IRA bomb blast has been revealed 20 years on.
Filmed by firefighters using hand-held cameras, the footage captures the sheer scale of the damage and the complexity and size of the search and rescue operation which followed.
It’s part of a fascinating new film chronicling the day compiled by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and released to the M.E.N. to mark the 20-year anniversary of the attack, on June 15, 1996 .
At the height of the blast alert there were 20 fire engines, 11 specialist fire appliances, more than 115 firefighters and 26 supervisory officers at the scene.
The 3,300lb bomb detonated at 11.17am. It was the day before Father’s Day and Russian and German football fans were in Manchester for the Euro 96 championships.
Alongside police officers and paramedics, many raced to the scene from home without hesitation, despite the obvious risk of a secondary explosion.
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One senior officer reveals the Queen’s reaction to the bombing and control room staff tell how simple children’s toys became a lasting memory of the destruction and the eerie atmosphere of silence in the city centre.
Of the 212 people injured, 40 were rescued by the fire service. The footage, much of which has never been seen before, shows a deserted - and destroyed - city centre.
It’s shot largely on Cross Street, Corporation Street and at the bottom end of Market Street - areas which took the brunt of the blast. In one clip, two firefighters chat in disbelief as they walk beside fire engines along a rubble-strewn Corporation Street, which resembles a war zone.
Wailing store alarms can be heard in the background.
Maps featuring evacuation plans are shown for the first time and control room staff reveal how they fielded hundreds of 999 calls from across the region.
Graphic footage shows firefighters searching through rubble under bombed-out buildings.
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Richard Rigby, an ex-senior divisional officer, described the scenes as ‘something out of Armageddon’. He said: “What I can remember is that it was absolutely red hot that day. It was the day before Father’s Day so everyone was in the city centre shopping.
“Arriving there it was a bit like something out of Armageddon. It was a surreal experience.
“You are used to different scenarios, different major incident planning, but you could never prepare for something like this.
“It was just like a typical scene you see on TV.
“We had never dealt with an incident of that magnitude. Firefighters did what firefighters so best. They took control of the situation. They did what they had to do.”
Eerie scenes
The eerie solitude of the city centre after the bomb haunts retired firefighter John Stewart.
He was a fire service divisional officer at the time and received a call at home from the brigade’s control room as he enjoyed a sunny Saturday off work with his family.
Recalling the events after he raced to the scene, John said he had ‘never seen as many fire engines in my life before’.
“And glass,” he said. “I noticed glass.
“There was just glass and shards of glass everywhere. The one thing that I remember, that really struck home at the time, was the devastation in the immediate area.
“The fact that there was no people about. You speak to anybody and ask them have they ever been to Manchester at anytime of day where there is nobody? It just doesn’t happen.”
Watch: The horrifying moment of the blast caught on CCTV
John told how firefighters knew of the risk of another explosion, a secondary device, but were determined to do their jobs. Buildings were searched and evacuated one by one.
“We knew that there was the possibility of a secondary device but we also knew that there was a possibility that people were injured and when you weigh one up against the other, you have got a job to do,” said John. “Lets get it done.”
“For every firefighter that was there, there was the same number in stations or at a logistics point chomping at the bit to get down there and do their bit.
“Firefighters always, always perform and always do the best that they can do. They do that because deep down they are caring people. That is what they are all about .”
Mannequins mistaken for bodies
Half-dressed store mannequins were confused for dead bodies in the aftermath of the bomb.
David Raymond, a supervisory fire officer on the day, revealed they had been blown out of shop windows - and numerous 999 calls were received.
He also told how firefighters refused breaks and rest periods to carry on searching wrecked buildings.
David heard the blast from his back garden and immediately responded to calls from the control centre. He said fire crews were angry - angry that their city centre had been targeted.
“It was quite breathtaking really,” he said looking back. “Wherever you stood you looked around and you can imagine the words that we were saying.
"We were absolutely astounded. It was quite emotional really. I have never had that kind of experience. It was with a bit of anger as well. We were thing ‘how could somebody do this to the city centre.”
David said firefighters didn’t want to rest.
He said: “We were struggling to get them off the incident ground. They did not want to come. They wanted to go and search another building. They used to say to me ‘boss, we have got another building to search and they were there.”
He added: “We were getting calls saying that bodies could be seen along Corporation Street and at the corner of Deansgate. It was shop mannequins with dresses on that had been blown out of shop windows. I remember walking around with my colleagues and we were talking. We were quite angry that someone could have done that to our city.”
Control room under pressure
The fire service control room played a key role in the response to the bomb.
And for the officer in charge of the mobilisation on the day, a simple child’s toy has become a lasting and vivid memory.
Liz Drummond recalled how the bomb’s vibrations activated ‘Bill and Ben’ singing and vibrating toys being advertised in the smashed front windows of Marks and Spencer on Market Street.
She said: “They were Bill and Ben singing flowers. If you clapped your hands they would sing and their heads would wobble. Because of the vibration of the bomb when it went off, these were all in the windows of Marks and Spencer. The crews were saying it was really eerie.
“You didn’t hear people but you’d hear fire alarms and these heads were going off and their music was going off. It was very surreal.”
Liz revealed ‘genuine messages from the IRA’ had been received and said firefighters went into the city centre ‘with no thought for their own safety’.
Phillipa Roberts was in charged of ‘D’ watch and fielded calls in the control room.
She recalled: “The biggest thing I think was the number of calls we got into control from outside. Within minutes of the bomb going off we were receiving calls from all over the world - Sky News, CNN News.
“We had a number of fire appliances going into town and we did not know whether they were going into the dangerous area. There was a constant movements of resources.”
Royal approval for rescue mission
Fire chief David Morris was invited to meet the Queen in Manchester after the bomb.
He was in charge of evacuation and the brigade’s initial response. As the only trauma technician present in the early stages, he also tended to Barbara Welch, who was the most seriously injured victim.
David also met Prince Philip, who accompanied the Queen.
He said it was a private meeting with other fire service commanders and the party toured bomb-hit buildings
He said: “The Queen and Prince Philip turned up to have a look at what happened. The way they reacted to it did have a big bearing on the fact that nobody was killed.”
A picture of the Queen with civic dignitaries meeting fire service commanders amidst the rubble has been revealed.
It wasn’t to be the only official visit. Then Home Secretary Michael Howard and the Prime Minister, John Major, visited the ravaged city in the days that followed
David said the Manchester bomb was a different type of emergency.
David said: “Within the fire service, we are usually called to something that has actually happened. We have time to plan, time to set our store out.
“But on this day we had people there who actually saw the thing go off.”