I was at Birmingham International station and saw the enormous cloud of smoke from behind NEC - never went to the museum, too late now.

Motorcycle Museum Fire - Most Of The Damaged Bikes Can be Saved - 24 Hour Museum: "While it appears that around 600 motorcycles from the museum's 900-strong collection have been damaged, Ken explained that only around 70 of them have been lost forever. The rest are salvageable and will be able to undergo a very long period of restoration."


"Assistant Divisional Officer of the West Midlands Fire Service, Dave Glenis confirmed that a cigarette, discarded near a pile of old air conditioning filters at the side of the museum was the likely cause of it.

'It burned through the eaves and then got through the roof space and it was only when it had taken quite a strong hold that it was discovered.' he said

Adding that traffic problems and the lack of a nearby water supply all hampered the rescue attempt, Dave said that although the exhibition halls had burned very quickly he didn't believe the motorcycles were carrying any petrol.

'If you imagine a motorbike with the foam on the seat, the rubber tyres and all the fixtures and fittings, once they start they burn freely and of course it's a museum with lots of open space and lots of people, so there's a lot of oxygen.'"


IOL : Hundreds of rare bikes lost in museum fire: "Fire swept through three of five exhibit halls in Britain's National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. So fierce was the blaze that, despite 120 fire-fighters being on the scene, more than 400 rare, classic or just plain unique British motorcycles - most of them irreplaceable - were damaged or destroyed"

ic Birmingham - Museum fire causes misery for brides: "Birmingham brides were today hastily making alternative arrangements after the National Motorcycle Museum blaze ruined their plans for weekend weddings."



"Owner Roy Richards opened the museum in 1984 and it has since attracted some 250,000 visitors a year and grown to become one of the biggest motorcycle museums in the world, incorporating 15 reception suites."


Isle of Man Online: "The museum was opened by TT legend Geoff Duke in 1984 and his trophies were housed in cabinets in the reception area. They were hauled to safety by staff who smashed the glass to rescue them.

The six-times TT winner and six-times world champion said: 'It's a great relief. They are very precious and obviously they couldn't have been replaced so, although the actual fire is an absolute tragedy, it's nice to hear the trophies are safe.'

Mr Duke's relief is perhaps greater than most because many of his trophies and memorabilia were destroyed in another fire on the Snugborough Trading Estate in the early 1990s, when he'd stored his possessions while selling his home. Those at the museum are his only remaining trophies."


Sometimes our possessions own us.