Read about our approach to external linking. 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. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. The flames suddenly appeared and the whole roof took alight,' he said. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. 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. Fifty-six people died. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. I ran to the stand and tried to help people escape. Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. 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 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. As we move ahead on the 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, sustainability projects are taking center stage. Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. 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. Bradford City stadium fire. A football match in Bradford UK ends Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. The book also raises concerns about the speed of the inquiry and the fact that it commenced a few weeks after the fire and lasted for only a few days, whereas other inquiries into similar incidents, pre and post the Bradford fire, have taken years to come to fruition and months to be heard. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. Pendleton: "As I ran away I remember turning around and looking and just seeing this wall of grey smoke pouring out and pushing thousands of people in front of it. That duty was not a duty to the Club but a duty to the spectators and other persons in the stand. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters Bradford City fire: Police reveal who was responsible for 1985 Valley Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. I had no idea. I do not include the people currently running the club, who have always displayed a great, sensitive duty to the memory of those who died. 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 saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. Those who escaped walked to a nearby pub to use the phone to ring home, while others arrived in a daze outside the police headquarters to try and trace relatives. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. "I saw people die in the stand - but it was only until then that I realised the scale of it.". 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. 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. 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. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. People were arriving in a daze outside Bradford police headquarters on Saturday evening and early yesterday. 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. Bradford City stadium fire | Football Wiki | Fandom People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. More than 200 people were taken to hospital, many with terrible injuries. [10] The stand seats did not have risers; this had allowed a large accumulation of rubbish and paper waste in the cavity space under the stand, which had not been cleared for many months. 05/12/15 AT 9:58 AM BST Crowds on the pitch at the Valley Parade stadium after a stand caught fire Getty Images Police have revealed the identity of the man who they believe was responsible. He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. 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. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. "[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'. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. That's when everybody else had the same thought. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. Bradford City fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. 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! People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. And all you could smell was burning.". A call was made on a police radio to the police operations room in Bradford and relayed to the fire brigade at 3.43 pm. The fire happened during a football match. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. "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. [57] Following the 30th anniversary of the fire, a number of news organisations named this man as Eric Bennett who was visiting his nephew in Bradford from Australia and attended the game on the day. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. [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 fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. He later died in hospital. [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. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. 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. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. 'The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. 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. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. 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. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. **The Bradford City Stadium Tragedy** - Firehouse The 1985 Bradford City Stadium fire remembered - IFSEC Global "It made me realise life is too short." Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. "[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. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. People had walked through turnstiles and along a wooden corridor before descending the steps into their seats. What Is Burning Man? | Burning Man Martin Fletcher was talking to BBC Look North. Stories From 11 May. Although there was no perimeter fencing, such as led to the devastating crush at Hillsborough, locked turnstiles meant that many fans who tried to escape by that means were killed or seriously injured. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. 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?. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. Fletcher has taken facts and presented them in such a way that it should make it moralistically impossible for this incident not to be looked at again. Fire kills 50 at soccer stadium - HISTORY A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. [56], On 17 April 2015, retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer, in a report by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, said the police were aware of an Australian man who admitted to starting the fire. 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. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). The fire at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium in which 56 people died and more than 270 were injured is remembered 25 years on. It detailed the safety work which would be carried out at Valley Parade as a result of the club's promotion, admitting the ground was "inadequate in so many ways for modern requirements". Hendrie: "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. 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. Surviving supporters, former Bradford players, the sole television commentator at the stadium and the judge who led the government inquiry tell the BBC about that fateful afternoon and its aftermath. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. 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. 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. The Bradford Burns Unit was set up by Professor David Sharpe after he received many of the victims following the fire. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. Following his own 15 year investigation Into the fire, which killed four of his family members while he escaped, former tax accountant Martin Fletcher released 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015). I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. [31] In 1988, the first compensation payments were made to survivors of the fire, with over 40 people receiving up to 40,000 each. 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. 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. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. ', 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. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. Most of the exits at the back were locked or shut and there were no stewards present to open them, but seven were forced open or found open. There were no extinguishers in the stand's passageway for fear of vandalism, and one spectator ran to the clubhouse to find one but was overcome by smoke and impeded by others trying to escape. "We couldn't help because there were so many people streaming towards us, to our side of the pitch, to get away from the heat. Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that 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. One man clambered over burning seats to help a fan,[18] as did player John Hawley,[15] and one officer led fans to an exit, only to find it shut and had to turn around.
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