The Moment LBC Broke The News Of The Kings Cross Fire 30 Years Ago

14 November 2017, 08:51

On the 18th November 1987, 31 people were killed when a fire engulfed a wooden escalator inside Kings Cross Station. This is the original recording of how LBC broke the story.

The devastating blaze is believed to have been started by a dropped match which set alight material below the escalator.

The deadly fire at Kings Cross killed 31 people.
The deadly fire at Kings Cross killed 31 people. Picture: PA

Lindsay Taylor, an LBC reporter at the time, happened to be on the Tube on his way home close to Kings Cross at the time of the deadly fire.

He recalls seeing a distinct haze of smoke as the train pulled in to the platform.

Moments later a man herded people on to the carriage and told passengers not to get off.

Mr Taylor, then 31-years old, was carrying his portable tape-recorder at the time and leapt off the train at the next station.

From what at first was thought to be a local rubbish fire turned out to be a major disaster.

The blaze is believed to have been started by a dropped lit match.
The blaze is believed to have been started by a dropped lit match. Picture: PA

He was one of the first reporters on the scene, and in his broadcast for LBC detailed the horrors of the tragedy unfolding before his very eyes.

You can hear the original broadcast in the video at the top of this page.