'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 fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. A new book, written by Valley Parade survivor Martin Fletcher, claims then-Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham had previously netted millions of pounds from insurance payouts after at least eight previous fires at businesses he was associated with. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. 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. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". [15], At 3:44pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a firea glowing lightwas noticed three rows from the back of block G,[10][16] as reported by television commentator John Helm. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". The fundraising events included a reunion of the 1966 World Cup Final Starting XI that began with the original starting teams of both England and West Germany, and was held at Leeds United's stadium, Elland Road, in July 1985 to raise funds for the Appeal fund. On 11 May 1985 a blaze ripped through Bradford City stadium's wooden structure in minutes as the club played Lincoln City in an end of season match. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. The fire claimed young and old alike, with most fatalities occurring at the rear of the stand where people sought escape only to find turnstiles locked. 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. Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. 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. "I parked my van outside because I started making enough money painting as I was in construction. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". On Saturday 11 May 2002, the 17th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial with the names of those who lost their lives was dedicated at the new entrance to the redeveloped Sunwin stand. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. 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'. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. "I walked past a public telephone outside the ground and there were queues of people waiting to ring home to say: 'I'm OK'. The flames suddenly appeared and the whole roof took alight,' he said. 'The smoke was very, very dense. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. Burning Man Countdown | Burning Man Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire that devastated Valley Parade Thirty years after football's 'forgotten tragedy', the truth of what exactly happened when 56. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. The Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. "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. Hillsborough looms the largest in our collective consciousness, but there were also the many deaths that occurred at Heysel Stadium in 1985, as well as the Bradford City stadium fire that same year. 56 dead and hundreds more injured. "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. [13], The match kicked off at 3:04pm and after forty minutes of the first half, the score remained 00,[14] in what was described as a drab affair with neither team threatening to score. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. Burning Man NYC It was later established that the blaze was caused by a fan who went to put his cigarette out but dropped it between the floorboards onto a pile of rubbish that had been building up below. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. One, now re-situated to that end of the stand where the fire began, is a sculpture donated on the initial re-opening of Valley Parade in December 1986 by Sylvia Graucob, a then Jersey-based former West Yorkshire woman. Bradford fan Matthew Wildman, who was aged 17 and using crutches because of rheumatoid arthritis: "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire 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. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. Since then, it has been further re-developed and, today, Valley Parade is a modern 25,136 all-seater stadium, which is virtually unrecognisable from how it was at the time of the disaster, save for the original clubhouse that still stands beside the main stand, and the flank support wall that runs down the Hollywell Ash Lane at the "Bradford End". It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. Fire disaster at football match (Bradford City stadium fire) Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. Bradford City stadium fire: Police identify man who 'dropped the It was to be our day,' he said. It has a black marble fascia on which the names and ages of those that died are inscribed in gold, and a black marble platform on which people can leave flowers and mementos. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. 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 "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. 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. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. 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 . My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. The match between Bradford City and Lincoln City, the final game of that season, had started in a celebratory atmosphere with the home team receiving the Third Division championship trophy. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken [38], The tragedy received immense media attention and drew support from around the world, with those offering their sympathy including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. We went over to the policeman stood at the corner flag and asked if it was being sorted out, and he said it was under control," Harrison says. More than 200 people were taken to hospital, many with terrible injuries. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . The 1985 Bradford City Stadium fire remembered - IFSEC Global [31] In 1988, the first compensation payments were made to survivors of the fire, with over 40 people receiving up to 40,000 each. "[23], On the 25th anniversary of the fire, the University of Bradford established the United Kingdom's largest academic research centre in skin sciences as an extension to its plastic surgery and burns research unit.[24]. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. They were at fault, but the fault was that no-one in authority seems ever to have properly appreciated the real gravity of this fire hazard and consequently no-one gave it the attention it certainly ought to have received. Bradford City stadium fire - Wikipedia Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. [6], The 198485 season had been one of Bradford City's most successful seasons, ending with City clinching the championship title courtesy of a 20 victory against Bolton Wanderers in the penultimate game of the season. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. "It is hard to imagine how Martin and his mother have managed to cope over the last 30 years and we have always respected him," Harrison says. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. 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. "I looked up and saw the flames. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. 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. [5] However, he also warned the club of a build-up of litter beneath the stand because of a gap between the seats. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. 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. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". "As a 15-year-old, you don't really know how much of an impact an event like that will have on your life," Town says. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. A giant Christian cross, made up of two large charred wooden members[44] that had once been part of the stand, was constructed in front of the middle of the stand and behind the pitchside speaker's platform. A bid of 350 has been made for the original painting and Town will sell 56 prints in memorial of those who lost their lives, with the aim of raising 3,000 for the Bradford Burns Unit. 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. [45] In total, 28 police officers and 22 supporters, who were publicly documented as having saved at least one life, later received police commendations or bravery awards. "[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. "I was supposed to meet my father at my grandfather's house, but I was a bit late so I went straight to the game so I didn't miss the festivities.". (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. "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. At the time, however, Harrison says, Bradford just wanted to move on. 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. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. 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. One family was in tears, the mother shaking. 'They did not have a chance. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. It was an awful thing to watch.". I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. There were no fire extinguishers. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. 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. No fire extinguishers had been installed over fears of vandalism and less than four minutes after the fire was reported, the fire had engulfed the whole stand. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. "[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. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. The game was irrelevant.". An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. "[55], Adams also went on to state that "I have read in some newspapers that he is being berated for his campaign to have a new inquiry. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. ", ITV football commentator John Helm, who provided live commentary of the unfolding disaster across the nation: "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night of Burning Man, which is the Saturday evening before Labor Day. I don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding. It was later established that the blaze was caused by a fan who went to put his cigarette out but dropped it between the floorboards onto a . "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. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. Come celebrate the beastly realm and our place in it and with it, an even more radically inclusive and sustainable city and global community in 2023: ANIMALIA! The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. 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. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. 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. Stories From 11 May. 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. "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. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. Bradford City fire: Police reveal who was responsible for 1985 Valley [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 agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. When the game began there was no way out for them, except by going on to the pitch. "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. It occurred during a league match in front of record numbers of spectators, on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 and injuring at least 265. One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. The Most Tragic Nightclub Fires In History - Grunge.com The heat was so intense it caused car windows to shatter in the street. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "We stayed in the pub for hours. Bradford City stadium fire | Football Wiki | Fandom Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". 1908 - Collinwood school fire, in Collinwood, Ohio (soon absorbed by Cleveland ), on March 4, killed 175. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news.
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