There were big changes after a fire in the Falcon ’ s Nest Hotel in Port Erin . Following the fire , the commissioners purchased a 60 ft Metropolitan Escape which cost £ 91 . By 1903 a brigade of 12 men was formed and , after further expansion of the town , the commissioners again agreed to purchase a 45 ft extending ladder and cart from Simmis at a cost of £ 72 9s .
Laxey were the last to follow and records of 1920 indicate that a fire brigade was formed under the leadership of Captain F . W Cowin . This cart was made by J Blakeborough & Sons Ltd and has been preserved to a very high standard to this day by Laxey Fire Station personnel .
By 1938 with the threat of war looming , a Central Air Raids Precautions Committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Deemster Farrant and the committee investigated all aspects of training for air raid wardens , police , fire and local authorities , and recommendations were made to increase the number of fire fighting personnel . By 1939 the recommendations were being implemented and provisions were being made for Douglas Fire Brigade to operate over the whole of the Island if required .
By February 1940 the Local Government ( Fires ) Act was implemented . The Act defined seven fire areas - Douglas , Laxey , Ramsey , Kirk Michael , Peel , Port Erin ( Rushen ) and Castletown . These fire areas are the same to this day .
In June of 1964 the newly formed Fire Services Committee met and the first task was to reorganise the full time staff at Douglas Fire Station in John Street . Within a short time a new establishment was formed to include the Chief Fire Service Officer Cyril Pearson and 9 other personnel . The policy of modernisation continued and by April 1965 a central fire control , manned on a 24 hr watch system was established and at the same time the 999 emergency telephone system was introduced into the fire service control room .
On 2 August 1973 at 7:40pm some boys accidentally set fire to a dismantled kiosk at the Summer-land Leisure complex on Douglas promenade . At 8:01pm central fire control in John Street received a 999 call from Duggan ’ s radio cabs informing the fire service that the Summer-land Leisure Complex on Douglas Promenade was on fire . The sequence of events that followed this tragic fire have been well published in the past . Some 51 people perished in the disaster and it is the worst British peace time disaster involving fire since 1929 .
On 3 September 1973 the Lieutenant Governor appointed a Commission of Enquiry into the Summer-land disaster and the enquiry lasted until February 1974 . The Commission urged the immediate revision of Theatre Regulations and drastically changed the whole approach to fire safety on the Isle of Man .
Early 1977 saw the fire service take delivery of the new Douglas Fire Station building on Peel Road and the formal opening took place on 30 June 1977 . The building is still in use to this day .
In 1988 the Isle of Man Fire Service was renamed the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service to take into account the many and varied different types of rescue calls that this very modern and efficient fire service deal with today , such as hill search incidents , line ( rope ) rescue incidents , and the many road traffic accidents and special service calls that all fire crews from each of the 7 fire stations on the Isle of Man deal with each year . Further information on the history of the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service can be obtained by reading Mann Ablaze by local author Stan Basnett . ISBN 0-948135-25-5 .
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