On 2 August 1973, a flash fire at the Summerland leisure centre in Douglas killed 50 people (11 of them under 20) and seriously injured around 80 more, making it one of Britain's worst peacetime disasters. A fire believed started by a discarded match in a disused kiosk spread rapidly because the building's Galbestos cladding and Oroglas acrylic sheeting were highly combustible and its open-plan design created chimney-like voids, while locked fire doors forced roughly 3,000 occupants toward a single main entrance. A public inquiry condemned the flammable materials and evacuation failures, prompting nationwide changes to building fire-safety regulations; the rebuilt centre reopened in 1978 with improved fire suppression and safer materials.