On 23 December 1960 a fire broke out at Chicken Rock Lighthouse, off the Calf of Man, trapping the keepers at the top of the burning tower; the Port St Mary lifeboat crew rescued them in very difficult conditions. The fire caused extensive damage and hastened the lighthouse's automation, completed by 1962; a new light was subsequently established on the Calf of Man itself by 1968, after which Chicken Rock was downgraded to a minor light.