TWO men died in a burning gentleman’s club after a pub-goer flicked his lighter next to a heater and an inferno erupted, an inquest has heard.
Philip Townsend, 70, and John McCartney, 60 both died in the horror blaze at a Morecambe working men’s club in October 2019.
The two men tragically died of smoke inhalation after they reportedly became trapped inside Gordon Working Men’s Club on October 9.
According to LancsLive, an inquest heard how John, also known as Johnny and who worked at the social club as a cleaner, had flicked his lighter next to a gas canister used for a heater which caused it to ignite.
Detective Chief Inspector Abigail Finch-Hall told the jury how it’s believed he “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 as pulled back,” she added.
Both Johnny and Philip, known as Tony T, were pulled from the inferno by firefighters but sadly couldn’t be saved – they passed away a short time later.
Ten fire engines, police, and ambulances had scrambled to the two-storey building after it erupted into flames.
Regular Julie Galbraith described Johnny as a “good soul” that did “daft things” – he reportedly had a habit of playing flicking and fiddling with his lighter
She said she had warned him “on more than one occasion” that he was going “to blow himself up, or the rest of us” after spotting him clicking a lighter near the top of the canister.
Galbraith described how she spotted Tony sat in the corner when she saw a “flash coming from the next room near to the entrance door” with Johnny stood beside the canister which was alight.
“I screamed at him ‘it’s going to’ but before I could say ‘blow up’ flames shot up and Johnny was engulfed,” she added.
The jury was shown shocking CCTV footage of the blaze where the club was seen filled with smoke less than a minute after the gas canister ignited.
In a panic, customers race to the exits and attempt to escape through the fire door as smoke billows into the snooker room via the bar area.
The screen goes black, obscured by smoke, with customers still seen moving around.
One customer said he heard someone say “Johnny, what the f*** are you doing?” before he saw him “leaning over and flicking his lighter”.
Heather Goffin and son, Callum Goffin, ran the social club and were sentenced in 2023 for fire safety breaches.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said they discovered a number of breaches in the aftermath, including using a fan heater with liquefied petroleum gas.
They also found found that it wasn’t possible to evacuate the building club safely because the fire exit was prevented from fully opening due to a locked external security door.
At the inquest, DCI Finch-Hall said the fire-exit, comprised of two doors, was “unusual” and said the jury would hear evidence over their “appropriateness”
The outer doors were closed on the day of the fatal blaze which stopped Tony from escaping the burning building.
His body was discovered by firefighters between the two doors whereas Johnny was found at the top of the ramp that leads into the snooker area of the club.
The other customers fled through a kitchen door in the back of the building.
The inquest in Preston continues and is expected to last five days.
