I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters "As well as those who lost their lives or were injured, there are the relatives and friends, the others who were at the game, and those who would normally have gone to the match but decided not to that day. 56 people dead. Burning Man Countdown | Burning Man The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. There were no fire extinguishers. [31] In 1988, the first compensation payments were made to survivors of the fire, with over 40 people receiving up to 40,000 each. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. Bradford fire: The Valley Parade disaster 30 years on [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". For the 30th anniversary of the fire a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was recorded at Voltage Studios in Bradford. [10] Of those who died, 11 were under-18 and 23 were aged 65 or over,[20] and the oldest victim was the club's former chairman, Sam Firth, aged 86. The 1985 Bradford City Stadium fire remembered - IFSEC Global However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". People were scrambling for their lives to get out, and I know having sat in that stand normally that it is difficult and there is a drop to get to the pitch level," Harrison says. The horrific scenes of people burning alive seemed to live on in an eerie silence as daylight broke over the remains of Bradford City Football Club's ground yesterday. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.". Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that The team was presented with the Division Three championship trophy - their first trophy in 56 years - in front of 11,000 jubilant fans before the start of their match against Lincoln City. Fire on Upper Castle Street, Bradford Yorkshire Evening Post On This Day 1985: The Bradford City Fire 0:15 Bradford Mill fire 24:43 The Bradford Fire 0:26 Large fire in Bradford Yorkshire Evening Post Bradford Mill fire 0:34 Bradford Great Horton Mill fire 0:10 Fire at Bradford school (video: Glynn Beck) 4:05 bradford city fc fire 1985 Martin Fletcher, a Bradford fan who lost three generations of his family in the fire, published a memoir of the tragic event called Fifty-Six The Story Of The Bradford Fire, in which he claimed the blaze at Valley Parade was one of nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with Heginbotham. "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. [10] Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand,[19] ran onto the pitch to help evacuate people. After the fire, Bradford City also announced they would thereafter play with a black trim on their shirt sleeves as a permanent memorial to those who had died. Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. In those days there was a lot of hooliganism and violence, so my initial thought was: 'I hope it has not kicked off - that's the last thing we need'. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. This included the banning of new wooden grandstands at all sports venues in the UK. Lincoln City's board responded by committing 1.1million (3.5million today) to their ground's renovation in the year that immediately followed the fire at Valley Parade, and over the following decade made improvements that eventually totalled 3million. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. Heginbotham died in 1995, aged 61, and was never prosecuted for the stadium fire, despite the coroner later saying he had given serious consideration to bringing a charge of manslaughter as the club had failed to act on three separate warnings about a potential fire risk. It seemed to put it out. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:41. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. Artist Paul Town, who now lives in Baildon, was 15 at the time of the fire. "[11] Police Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the area, said many of his officers cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. The inquiry into the disaster, chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell and known as the Popplewell Inquiry,[25] led to the introduction of new legislation to improve safety at the UK's football grounds. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. Fire disaster at football match (Bradford City stadium fire) - YouTube Sign in to confirm your age 0:00 / 5:23 Sign in to confirm your age This video may be inappropriate for some users.. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. The match, Bradford against Lincoln, was to have been a joyous climax to the club winning the Third Division championship and being promoted to the Second Division. Bradford City Stadium Fire 56 Dead & 100's Injured The Bradford City stadium fire was a stadium disaster that occurred during an English League Third Division fixture between Bradford City and Lincoln City on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 and injuring at least 265. [2] The main stand was described as a "mammoth structure", but was unusual for its time because of its place on the side of a hill. Among the main outcomes of the inquiry were the banning of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds, the immediate closure of other wooden stands deemed unsafe and the banning of smoking in other wooden stands. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. [citation needed] Spectators later spoke of initially feeling their feet becoming warmer; one of them ran to the back of the stand for a fire extinguisher but found none. "I looked up and saw the flames. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Mr Colin Sampson, said yesterday that a team of doctors and pathologists had worked throughout the night trying to identify the dead. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns Burning timbers and molten materials fell from the roof onto the crowd and seating below, and dense black smoke enveloped a passageway behind the stand, where many spectators were trying to escape. "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. Website by, Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985, Fundraising for firefighters and their families. Burning Man NYC Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Revealed: former Bradford chairman linked to at least eight fires before Valley Parade disaster, Martin Fletcher: Maybe the reason I am here is to finally reveal the truth, TheStory of the Bradford Fire: could any man really be as unlucky as Stafford Heginbotham?. However, there is a lot in this book that troubles me about the science, or lack of it, used in the testing of the investigators' hypothesis as to the source of the ignition. However, the turnstiles were locked and none of the stadium staff were present to unlock them, leaving no escape through the normal entrances and exits. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. However, the responsibility of the Club is, in my view, very much the greater and I apportion responsibility between the two defendants as to two-thirds on the first defendant and one-third on the third (sic) defendant. "I've always loved art but I owned businesses in construction so I've never had the time or a chance to follow it up," he says. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". [51] Another book; 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015) was written by Martin Fletcher to discuss how the disaster was caused, and follows his loss of his father, brother, uncle and grandfather. Bradford City players line up to observe a minutes silence for the 25th anniversary of the 1985 Bradford stadium fire prior to the Coca Cola League. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. [15] They included three who tried to escape through the toilets, 27 who were found by exit K and turnstiles 6 to 9 at the rear centre of the stand, and two elderly people who had died in their seats. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Some repair work was carried out, but in July 1984 the club was warned again, this time by a county council engineer, because of the club's plans to claim for ground improvements from the Football Trust. Grenfell among the UK's worst fire and tower tragedies Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair on fire. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. About 3,000 people were in Valley Parade's main stand, escaping by climbing over walls on to the pitch or through the usual exit gates. Forty-two minutes into the first half of the game, he looked to his left to see smoke and flames rising from the old wooden seats. The worst fire disaster in English football history played out on live television on May 11, after Valley Parade's main stand caught fire during a match between Bradford City and Lincoln City on . The plastic surgeon who treated the injuries of over 200, Professor David Sharpe, went on to set up a world-renowned burns research facility at the University of Bradford. "I want the truth to be out, the myths to be broken, so that I can get on with my life rather than knowing this information and having to live with this information. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. "All you could see was black cloud. The fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". Soon they were all running for their lives. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. "The one thing I remember at the time is we were grateful that we got an answer quickly after the inquiry. "[35], The total amount of compensation to the 154 claimants was reported to be as high as 20million, with the payouts covered by insurance taken out by the club. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. On 23 February 1987, Sir Joseph Cantley found the club two thirds responsible and the county council (which by this time had been abolished) one third responsible. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. "[27], After controversial comments made by Popplewell about the Hillsborough Disaster, Fletcher raised further concerns about the events following the fire saying that "I have many unanswered questions still about the fire in which four of my family died, as does my mother. A discarded cigarette and a dilapidated wooden stand, which had survived because the club did not have the money to replace it, and accumulated paper litter, were considered to have conspired to cause the worst disaster in the history of the Football League. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "It is unbelievable how quickly the fire took hold. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. [52], On 1 May 2010, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fire the football TV show Football Focus was hosted from Valley Parade by Dan Walker, the show included interviews with Terry Yorath and John Hendrie. Survival Guide 2022 ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. The team's coach, Mr Terry Yorath, ran on to the pitch to try to help people away from the stand. People pushed him to the ground and tried to smother the flames. ', Bradford City Fire Website messages of condolence from around the world, "Chuckle Brothers' single for Bradford City fire anniversary", "Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire", "Emotive play of Bradford City fire disaster raises cash for burns unit", "Book Review: Four Minutes to Hell: The Story of the Bradford City Fire by Paul Firth football book reviews", "Football Focus 1st May 2010 Bradford City Part 1", Bradford City A year of healing Documentary, "Bradford fire: expert demands new investigation into blaze", "Bradford City stadium fire 1985 IPCC investigation decision", "BRADFORD CITY FIRE: Accidental cause of tragedy 'not in any doubt', says detective", "Bradford City fire 'started by cigarette', "Bradford City fire: Briton attacks 'inaccurate' BBC documentary claiming his uncle started blaze", "Bradford fire: Sir Oliver Popplewell defends 1985 inquiry interview in full", Living with Jacko From Touchline to Lifeline, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire, The full Interim Report by Lord Popplewell into the Bradford City Fire, British Medical Journal article on the treatment of burns casualties after the Bradford City Fire, Peter Jackson's account of the Bradford City Fire, Nationally broadcast Yorkshire Television programme covering the fire, broadcast the following day, ITN bulletin covering the fire, also from the following day, ITN bulletin covering the aftermath, from three days later, Chelsea F.C. Popplewell's report was nowhere close to the quality of Lord Justice Taylor's report after Hillsborough, and since reading it as an adult I have always been very disappointed in it and considered it a poor piece of work. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. The Bradford city stadium fire. 56 people died when a - reddit The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. Each year Lincoln send representatives to the annual memorial service in Bradford city centre and between 2007 and 2009, were managed by Bradford's captain that day, Peter Jackson. "[59], Raymond Falconer's reliability had previously been questioned by Daniel Taylor in The Guardian who stated that: "The Bradford Telegraph and Argus described him as a 'top detective'. Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame The game was irrelevant. The other, situated by the main entrance, was donated by the club after its 7.5million (13million today) rebuilding of the original main stand in 2002. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. Fifty-six people died. Parents and children were laughing and joking with the police as the preliminaries to the game began. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. They were hampered further by the fact that doors at the back of the stand were locked to try to stop people coming in without paying. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. [8], The Bradford City matchday squad of players and staff consisted of Terry Yorath, Trevor Cherry, Chris Withe, Don Goodman, Eric McManus, Tony Clegg, John Hawley, Dave Evans, Bryan Edwards, John Hendrie, Mark Ellis, Stuart McCall, Peter Jackson, Bobby Campbell, Martin Singleton and Greg Abbott. A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. It's terrifying how quickly fire spreads in the wrong circumstances. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. We couldn't breathe. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. [8][10] Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside, which again helped prevent further deaths. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. At the time of the disaster, many stadiums had perimeter fencing between the stands and the pitch to prevent incidents of football hooliganism particularly pitch invasions which were rife during the 1980s. Hendrie: "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. Read about our approach to external linking. Bradford City stadium fire. A football match in Bradford UK ends "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. I have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. The courts held the club to be two thirds responsible, finding that it gave "no or very little thought to fire precautions" despite repeated warnings. All you could hear was sirens and screams. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. There has been reports of people lighting paper under the seats, and it was important that as many fans as possible who were in the stand or at the Kop end contacted the police. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. On the recording are Dene Michael (Black Lace), The Chuckle Brothers, Clive Jackson of Dr & The Medics, Owen Paul, Billy Pearce, Billy Shears, Flint Bedrock, Danny Tetley and Rick Wild of The Overlanders. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken Fletcher, who was 12 at the time of the fire, does not make any direct allegations but he does believe Heginbotham's history with fires resulting in payouts of around 27m in today's terms warrants further investigation. Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds within the following thirty years. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. 'I have to tell you that the fire was so intense that identifying people is going to be the great problem we have to face.'. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. People ran onto the pitch with their clothes on fire while others were trapped at the back of the stand where they had gone to try to escape through the turnstiles. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. [15] They included three who tried to escape through the toilets, 27 who were found by exit K and turnstiles 6 to 9 at the rear centre of the stand, and two elderly people who had died in their seats. [8][9] In the crowd were local dignitaries and guests from three of Bradford's twin townsVerviers in Belgium, and Mnchengladbach and Hamm in West Germany. Instead it turned into a day of appalling tragedy. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. Nigel Adams who worked for 12 years as a fire investigator with a British fire service was spurred on by the book to join the call for a fresh inquiry, stating that Fletcher's book was "one of the best accounts of a fire, as seen from a victim's point of view, and as a piece of investigative writing, I have ever read". Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. As he scaled the brick perimeter wall at the front, his father stayed behind to help others escape. Bradford City fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . Bradford fan David Pendleton, then aged 21 and stood in the main stand: "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. At 3.40pm, five minutes before half-time, a glowing light was spotted three rows from the back of block G. "We were stood in line with the 18-yard, the penalty area, when we saw some smoke and a bit of fire diagonally from where we were. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken Daniel Taylor The policewoman assigned to the grieving Fletchers gets goosebumps when she looks back to 30 years ago. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights.
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