A fire broke out within a plutonium reactor in the UK on October 8, 1957, triggering the worst nuclear disaster in the country's history.

But it took several days for workers at the Windscale Piles to notice the intense blaze within the facility.

Dousing the fire proved incredibly difficult.

Running the fans at maximum speed only fed the flames further.

And efforts to create a firebreak by shifting undamaged fuel cartridges were ineffective.

Pumping carbon dioxide into the reactor also did not work.

Officials then risked making things worse by pouring water on the eleven tonnes of burning uranium. Doing so could have resulted in a further explosion.

That didn't happen, but it also failed to douse the flames.

Eventually, the workers shut off all air coming into the reactor.

That fi

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