'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 4-alarm fire started in a one-story lumber storage building and spread to an adjacent building . Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. 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. The heat was so intense it caused car windows to shatter in the street. 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. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. 'The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. 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. "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. 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 have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. 'It is the worst day in my life. 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. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. 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. "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. Wildman: "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. 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. [8][10] Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside, which again helped prevent further deaths. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. Edited by BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko. Website by, Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985, Fundraising for firefighters and their families. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. 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. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. 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.. We accepted it was an accident, nobody wanted to blame the club because it was the club we wanted to support. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. ", "If the inquiry is opened again, we will await to see what evidence there is to prove is wasn't an accident," he says. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. Bradford City initially prospered in the Second Division only missing out on promotion to the First Division in 1988 after failing to beat Ipswich Town at home on the final day of their first full season back at Valley Parade. The smoke was choking. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. "We went out on to the pitch and I could see so many happy faces. The game was irrelevant.". "[33], Central to the test case were two letters sent to Bradford City's Club Secretary by the West Yorkshire Fire Brigade; the second letter dated 18 July 1984 specifically highlighted in full the improvements needed to be actioned at the ground as well as the fire risk at the main stand. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. People were falling on to each other and screaming. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. "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. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices 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 looked up and saw the flames. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. 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. There were no fire extinguishers. We, and the world, need Burning Man and Black Rock City more than ever. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. More than 250 others were injured in one of the biggest disasters at a British football 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. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. We had not been told anything.". I don't see that. 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. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. "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. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:41. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". 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". What Is Burning Man? But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. 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. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. "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. [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. 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. 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. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. 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?. I had no idea. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. 56 people dead. "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.". People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. As we move ahead on the 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, sustainability projects are taking center stage. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. [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. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. 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 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. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. "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. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. Four police officers, constables David Britton and John Richard Ingham and chief inspectors Charles Frederick Mawson and Terence Michael Slocombe, and two spectators, Richard Gough and David Hustler, were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for their actions. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. The stories of escapes are legion. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. "It wasn't covering anything up, it wasn't avoiding the truth of what happened, everyone knows what happened, everyone knows it shouldn't have happened. 'They did not have a chance. The fire was described as the worst fire disaster in the history of British football, and the worst football related disaster since 66spectators died at Ibrox in 1971. 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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. You could hardly breathe. "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. According to ABC News, though, several hundred people in the Chinese city of Luoyang decided to cut loose on Christmas night 2000 by heading to a nightclub housed on the fourth floor of a multi-use industrial building.A fire broke out in the basement of the structure . 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. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. 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! Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. The smoke was choking. Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. The chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. 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. 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. Once we went out it was mayhem, manic, chaotic. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. Bradford City had just won the Third Division Championship and a record number of spectators over 11,000 had turned out to see the club presented with its first piece of league silverware in 56 years. [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. 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. [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. BurningMan.NYC will announce the dates and process for the 2023 grant cycle on this site & all BurningMan.NYC social channels in early Spring. 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. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . "[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'. It's a nice little business and it's something positive that came out of a tragedy. The fire happened during a football match. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. 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. 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'. In March 1985 the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. The flames suddenly appeared and the whole roof took alight,' he said. A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. [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. At the time, however, Harrison says, Bradford just wanted to move on. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. 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. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. Stories From 11 May. Lincoln City suffered two successive relegations, first to the Fourth Division in 1986, and again in 1987, becoming the first team to be automatically relegated from the Football League itself. It was to be our day,' he said. "It made me realise life is too short." "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". 527 votes, 98 comments. Of the 56 people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". 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. We had not been told anything.". Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. The fire brigade arrived at the ground four minutes after they were initially alerted. 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. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. It was unprecedented.". Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. 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. [26], In July 1985, an inquest was held into the deaths; at the hearings the coroner James Turnbull recommended a death by misadventure outcome, with which the jury agreed. It wasn't just something that happened in the past.". 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've never seen anything like it. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. 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. 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. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. 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. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. 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. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. 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. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". Within a few hours of the blaze starting, it was established that 56 people had been killed, many as a result of smoke inhalation, although some of them had survived until reaching hospital.[11]. 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. [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. Wildman: "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. Helm: "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. "Me and my dad eventually got out safely but it was a bit of a struggle at one point because the walls getting down to the pitch level were quite high I didn't get a growth spurt until I was 16 or 17.". "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. [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. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." Led by former England international Trevor Cherry, the Bantams won only their third divisional title and earned a return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1937. 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. "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. 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. More than 250 others were injured in one of the. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. 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. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". 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.
Jonty Bush Partner, What Happens If You Get Evicted From A Lease, Bishop Gorman Football Tickets 2021, Articles B