Summerland was the scene on 2 August 1973 of what was until 2017 the worst British peace time disaster involving fire since 1929.
The Summerland leisure centre opened in 1971 was badly damaged by the fire which had spread rapidly through the building which had used highly flammable materials.
The cause of the fire was three boys smoking in a small, disused kiosk adjacent to the centre's miniature golf course. Eventually the burning kiosk collapsed against the exterior of the building. This part of the building was clad in a material called Galbestos—profiled steel sheeting with asbestos felt on both sides coated with bitumen,with limited fire-resistance qualities. The fire spread to the wall's interior soundproofing material, which also had poor fire-resistance qualities, causing an explosion that ignited the highly flammable acrylic sheeting which covered the rest of the building. The fire spread quickly across the sheeting on the leisure centre walls and roof, and through vents which were not properly fireproofed. The acrylic melted, which allowed more oxygen to enter and dropped burning melted material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape, The building's open-plan design included many unblocked internal spaces that acted as chimneys, adding to the conflagration.
There was no attempt to evacuate the 3,000 people present until the visible evidence of the flames prompted a panic-stricken mass rush for the exits, where many people were crushed and trampled. Because of the locked fire doors, many people headed to the main entrance, which caused a crush.
The fire services were not called for over twenty minutes, and even then the call did not originate from the centre. Instead the first call came from a passing taxi driver and another via the captain of a ship located 2 miles (3.2 km) out at sea who radioed HM Coastguard and said "It looks as if the whole of the Isle of Man is on fire". The Coastguard immediately called the fire brigade. The first responding fire crews immediately realised additional resources would be required and almost every resource available to the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service was mobilised to the incident (93 of its 106 firefighters and all 16 of its engines)
Between fifty and fifty-three people died in the fire. The number of fatalities was worsened by the failure of power supplies and emergency generators, inadequate ventilation and locked fire doors.
Its charred steel skeleton remains were demolished in 1975 and then rebuilt on a smaller scale, construction commenced in 1976, with a smaller area of glass than the original, and a highly advanced fire extinguisher and alarm system The centre reopened in 1977, however it was closed in 2004 and was demolished in 2005.
The west wall was not however demolished as there were concerns that this would cause the adjacent cliff to collapse. This is the remnant that still remains today.
The west wall today is used as a roost by many birds who make use of the may flat surfaces and the portection afford by the vetical sections of the old building.
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