Jaguar factory fire 1957

Just came across a British Pathe news reel (on the internet) of the fire in 1957. Called "Jaguars come back fighting 1957", it shows a great deal of burnt out Jags sitting on the car park at the front by the main gates in Browns Lane. Being just a little young, I do not remember it, but some people might. A friend of mine Mr. Baker, lived just outside gate 2 and was the chief fireman for the plant for many years. At the end of the film, it shows the main gate and a new 3.4 Jag going out. I wonder if any one has pics of all these burnt out cars on the front car park? I did not know anything about the fire until I found the Pathe newsreel.

I found a photo about a year before the fire and there's some interesting info from 'Philippe' in one of the threads about Steve McQueen's purchase. It's a good motor site as well. Rare photo of Jaguar factory before the fire.

I worked in the Safety Office at Jaguar during the early 1970s and Alf Baker was a working colleague. He took the Browns Lane fire very seriously, as he did all of his responsibilities. The firemen under him joked that they had taken him to see the film 'Towering Inferno' which was popular at the time but that Alf ran out the fire hoses in the cinema and arranged an evacuation.

Thanks Bryn. I mainly knew his son Mark. But Alf took his work to heart. A very nice chap indeed. I think he passed on in the early 90's, due to the cigars. They had the house right next to gate 2 for some time, as it was owned by the Jag. (Opp the corner shop, now gone). Then moved 3 doors up. Were you there when they had the fire?

I wasn't there at the time of the fire, though it was always in the back of everybody's minds. If I remember right it started in the Trim Shop and a lot of money was spent on special roof openers to let the heat and smoke out if there was a recurrence. I got married in 1974 and I was offered another Jaguar house next door to Alf so that there was always a fire officer and a safety officer on call 24 hours a day but having thought about it I decided that it was too intense. By the next year I had moved on in my career requiring me to relocate to Birmingham