Woolworths fire

[edgey2001]

It mentions the Woolworths fire in Manchester on this link here, can't find anything about the fire in Leeds though.http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... at_woolies

[grumpytramp]

Geordie-exile wrote: In the late seventies there was an horrific fire at Leeds Woolworth's wasn't there? Am I dreaming it? I can't find any references on t'internet.I recall awful pictures in the YEP of shop assistants begging to be rescued from the barred windows backing on to Central Road. Like others I am sure the incident with Woolworths was the blaze in Manchester Woolworths which I think was in 1979. There is a wee bit here about it:http://flickr.com/photos/vvoody/1161208 ... 161499868/

[liits]

Link for the Woolworths fire in Manchester. It was made all the More memorable because of the TV news coverage showing people staff [?] trapped behind barred windows on an upper floor at the rear of the building.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manc ... 696407.stm

[chameleon]

Wasn't there a fire in the cafe next to Woolies, junction of Central Road and Market Arcade some time back? Could that be it?    

[Loiner in Cyprus]

chameleon wrote: Wasn't there a fire in the cafe next to Wollies, junction of Central Road and Market Arcade some time back? Could that be it? This is prossibly what I remember.

[Phill_dvsn]

I think you must be right Loiner. I asked my mum by text and she said it wasn't Woolies were she was working at the time.. Lol I forgot to ask were it was because somewhere else did burn down then Anyway I doubt Woolies will be like the Phoenix rising from the ashes this time!It looks like fat cat bosses milking the business's dry, general greediness and the resulting credit crunch has killed that place off for good this time!    

[chameleon]

Still sad and hard to believe they've gone though Phill, Woolworths has been aninstitution in its own right for several generations of people, one of those things which was always there. When something like that suffers, it really should be a sharp reminder that nothing is safe for ever.Not always looked upon with love perhaps, the shopping pecking order for large stores always went, Schofields, Lewis's and then Woolworths and the sometimes less than kind description of 'Woolies best' being given to some goods of questionable worth and quality!

[Phill_dvsn]

I agree with you absolutely Chameleon. These places are an institution. I think when folk look back to there childhood and younger days and remember these places you've mentioned with fondness-it bangs the message home that these institutions aren't safe in this day and age.How many people can you mention visiting santas grotto at Lewis's too and not get a great big smile on there face? It's almost like looking at the great old railway branch lines we had before the Beeching axe.. Very sad indeed.Terrible waste of so much hard labour.Short sightedness, greed, quick financial profit, poor quality and customer service for a quick buck kills these places off.Shocking is the word!            

[Si]

I think the problem with Woolies, was that they didn't develop. They had a niche market for so long, until supermarkets started selling the same stuff even cheaper. That's what killed them off.When I was little, I thought the Woolworth's in Pudsey was the only one. I never realised they were a huge chain, until I saw the one in Leeds!

[electricaldave]

I seem to recall that Woollies was in one of the arcades, they had a fire, moved to Briggate, eventually the original premises was refurbed and Boots moved in...or something like that......seems a while ago and I could well be wrong.It was either Queens Arcade or Thorntons Arcade