Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. 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 game was irrelevant.". Parents and children were laughing and joking with the police as the preliminaries to the game began. [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. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. Bradford City fire: Police reveal who was responsible for 1985 Valley By this date the appeal fund set up for survivors had paid out more than 4m with further payouts expected as the effects of physical and mental injury were determined. Twenty nine years ago on this date, 56 people tragically died when a fire erupted at Bradford City's Valley Parade ground The day was supposed to be one of celebration for Bradford who had just won the Third Division trophy. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. Fifty-six people died. 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. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. Instead it turned into a day of appalling tragedy. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. It seemed to put it out. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. "[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'. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. I dread to imagine how many more could have died if the wind had been blowing in the direction of the pitch, instead of away from it. So I decided to give it that next push. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. When the game began there was no way out for them, except by going on to the pitch. The heat was so intense it caused car windows to shatter in the street. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. The game was irrelevant. ', 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. Following the hearing in 1986, a test case was brought against the club by David Britton, a police sergeant serving on the day, and by Susan Fletcher, who lost her husband John, 11-year-old son Andrew, John's brother Peter and his father Edmond in the fire. 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. [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. He went on to state: "In 1985 fire investigation in Britain was in its infancy and some would say at that time most fire investigators were not much more than dust-kickers. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. "The letters that went to the club, the council's failings, the police's failings, even as supporters we allowed a culture where the gates were locked. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. After its renovation in 1990 they named the home end of their ground the 'Stacey-West Stand', in honour of Bill Stacey and Jim West, the two Lincoln City supporters who were amongst the 56 to die at Bradford. After 40 minutes of the first half, fans had begun to complain about the drab match and the 0-0 score. Bradford City Stadium Fire - 36 years ago today | RedCafe.net ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. The stories of escapes are legion. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. We, and the world, need Burning Man and Black Rock City more than ever. This day was for them. Crowds on the pitch at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium after the stand caught fire, Bradford City fans pay tribute to the 56 fans who died the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985, The blaze causing the deaths of 56 supporters in one of the worst incidents in British football, Bradford artist Paul Town was inspired to paint after surviving the Valley Parade fire, Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, New book claims fatal 1985 Bradford City Valley Parade fire might have been started deliberately, Bradford City chairman 'linked to eight fires' before Valley Parade stadium disaster, Bradford City 0-0 Reading: Bantams hold Royals in quarter-final stalemate, David Alaba receives massive abuse for voting for Lionel Messi in The Best awards, Glazers' demands set to delay Manchester United takeover: reports, Man Utd beat West Ham to reach FA Cup quarters as Spurs crash out, Bahrain GP: F1 team rankings ahead of 2023 season-opener, Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Xavi admits Los Blancos still favourites to advance. The smoke was choking. Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. The money raised from this record was contributed to fund the internationally renowned burns unit that was established in partnership between the University of Bradford and Bradford Royal Infirmary, immediately after the fire, which has also been Bradford City's official charity for well over a decade. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. Although some attributed Lincoln City's sudden demise to the psychological effects of the fire on its players (together with the resignation of successful manager Colin Murphy shortly before the fire), it symbolised the wider crisis that the introduction of new safety legislation brought to Lincoln's Sincil Bank home. [4] Football ground writer Simon Inglis had described the view from the stand as "like watching football from the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel" because of its antiquated supports and struts. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. (2015), 2003 Football League Third Division play-off final, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bradford_City_stadium_fire&oldid=1141323458, Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Articles needing additional references from May 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles needing additional references from December 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Fan attempted to extinguish a lit cigarette, it slipped through floorboards and fell on rubbish, igniting it. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. "Since then I have thought of everything we could have done, but we didn't have the presence of mind to run across the pitch and tell people to get out. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. He was actually one of the detectives involved in one of the gravest miscarriages of justices in the country, the murder of Carol Wilkinson in Bradford, where someone was locked up for 20 years for a murder he didn't commit."[60]. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. 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. Steel was to be installed in the roof,[8] and the wooden terracing was to be replaced with concrete. 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. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. The smoke was choking. "[37], Fletcher subsequently published a book in 2015, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire which revealed a history of fires at businesses owned by the Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . "I got pushed down to the front and I remember looking around and suddenly this smouldering, small fire had taken over virtually half a block and was starting to hit the roof. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. Stories From 11 May. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Uncensored coverage of the fire was transmitted minutes after the event on World of Sport and the BBC's Grandstand after the video cassette was physically driven to Yorkshire Television. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. Burning Man.NYC. Treatment of casualties and Burns Research Unit, Dramatisations, documentaries and published works, West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of accidents and disasters by death toll, List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll, "Hideous images linger after carnage of 'celebration' day", "Caught in Time: Bradford City win the Third Division, 1985", "EXCLUSIVE: Bradford's Valley Parade fire must be remembered like Hillsborough", "History of The Bradford Sling The Bradford Sling", "Bradford City football stadium blaze surgeon honoured", "Research centre to be living memorial to Bradford City FC fire disaster", "The Papers of the Popplewell Inquiry into Crowd Safety at Sports Grounds", "Popplewell Inquiry Bradford City Fire", "Bradford remembered: The unheeded warnings that led to tragedy", Joseph Canley summing up statement from test case court transcripts, Newspaper report from Sport and the Law April 21st 1989, "The Glasgow Herald Google News Archive Search", Los Angeles Times report on Bradford City test case findings, Court transcript from the test case brought by Susan Fletcher and Others against Bradford City and Others, "Bradford fire survivor attacks judge over Hillsborough comments", "The Story of the Bradford Fire: 'could any man really be as unlucky as Stafford Heginbotham? Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. 527 votes, 98 comments. [32] Speaking at the close of the case, the Judge said "They (the club) were at fault, no one in authority seemed to have appreciated the fire hazard. [7] As it was the first piece of league silverware that the club had captured since they won the Division Three (North) title 56years earlier, 11,076supporters were in the ground. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. The fact the inquiry also embraced the investigation into another incident which happened on the same day, a riot in which a young boy died at Birmingham City, makes it seem more frivolous. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden bench consumed the entire stand in under four minutes.Original TV footage: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31qcmtIf you would like to support this channel - https://buymeacoffee.com/TheRavensEyeAlthough focused primarily on disasters, this channel is all about the interesting, the strange, the unsolved, the tragic. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Bradford City fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette Martin Fletcher was talking to BBC Look North. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. The main stand at Bradford was not surrounded by fencing, and therefore most of the spectators in it could escape onto the pitch if they had been penned in then the death toll would inevitably have been in the hundreds if not the thousands. "I looked up and saw the flames. The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. It was unprecedented.". "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. One family was in tears, the mother shaking. 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. When Town reached the Midland Road side of the pitch, he was faced with horrific scenes of the injured being treated and comforted by ambulance crews, fans and players. 05/10/15 AT 12:00 PM BST Crowds on the pitch at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium after the stand caught fire Getty Images Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. Burning timber and molten material began to fall onto the seating below and black smoke enveloped the passageway behind, where fans were trying to escape. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. The Most Tragic Nightclub Fires In History - Grunge.com Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire [11] Those who escaped were taken out of the ground to neighbouring homes and a pub, where a television screened World of Sport, which broadcast video recorded of the fire just an hour after it was filmed. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. Helm later described the start of the fire in an interview to the Express newspaper: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, [A] man over from Australia visiting his son got two tickets to the game. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. [5] However, he also warned the club of a build-up of litter beneath the stand because of a gap between the seats. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. As he received the injured at Bradford Royal Infirmary he was able to call upon 10% of the UK's population of plastic surgeons. Mr Stefan Krolak, a survivor from Bradford , said he saw the smoke start a few seats away from him 'The smoke seemed suddenly to set on fire. Burning Man - Wikipedia "That was the legacy of the tragedy. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - HISTORY Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. 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. Pendleton: "I walked past a public telephone outside the ground and there were queues of people waiting to ring home to say: 'I'm OK'. But the sheer density of numbers coupled with the thick, choking smoke made people collapse. The two sides met for the first time after the fire in April 1989, when they arranged a benefit match in aid of the Hillsborough disaster, at Valley Parade. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. And all you could smell was burning.". Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame The stand had no perimeter fencing to keep fans from accessing the pitch, thus averting an instance of crush asphyxia as in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Called 'The 56' the play dramatises actual accounts of the Bradford City Fire with the purpose of the play showing how in times of adversity, the Football Club and the local community came together. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. Some days I had two operations in a day. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. "We went out on to the pitch and I could see so many happy faces. 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. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. Wildman: "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. 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. Last edited: May 11, 2021 May 11, 2019 #2 JohnnyKills Full Member Joined Jan 8, 2016 Messages 6,902 Yeah footage is horrendous isn't it. 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". Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985 | Fire Brigades Union Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. In the last few years, the BCFC kit-man John Duckworth did a sponsored 73-mile walk between Lincoln's Sincil Bank stadium and Valley Parade, joined by Bradford fans along the way. [39], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. he asks. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. 56 people dead. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia They were not able to use water on the stand immediately because this would have hampered attempts to rescue people being dragged by the police and friends from the stand. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . There was hardly anything left of him.'. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. The blaze, at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, killed 87 people, the . It is not thought that there was any crowd trouble in this section but one theory the police are investigating is that a flare or smoke-bomb was thrown or was accidentally dropped. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. That's when everybody else had the same thought. Warnings had been issued over the ground's antiquated wooden structure, which had been condemned and was due to be pulled down and replaced with steel and concrete. At 3.40pm, television commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand; in less than four minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats. Once we went out it was mayhem, manic, chaotic. 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. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. 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. 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.. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences. "I was in the main stand when the fire happened," he says. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. Martin Fletcher, whose brother, father, grandfather and uncle all died in the fire: "I'm taking the opportunity to lay out the facts that were not laid out in 1985 at the time of the inquiry or the inquests. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". [58] Following this report, Leslie Brownlie, who was the nephew in question, is reported to have said that his uncle never made such an admission of starting the fire. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Burning Man NYC Bradford fire 11.5.1985.mpg - video Dailymotion Bradford City stadium fire | Football Wiki | Fandom Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . "The players were told to go to the pub at the top of the road, we didn't know at this point if anyone had been killed.
