"[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. The Most Tragic Nightclub Fires In History - Grunge.com Hendrie: "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. Website by, Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985, Fundraising for firefighters and their families. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. 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 . Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." 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. A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985 | Fire Brigades Union 56 dead and hundreds more injured. I've never seen anything like it. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. All that was left of the main stand were rows of bare steel and stone, with blackened timbers hanging from the few remaining roof supports. Read about our approach to external linking. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). 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. 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. "[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 was appalling that public money was given to the club while it was still owned by the same shareholders under whose direction the fire had happened. 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. 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. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. "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. People were scrambling for their lives to get out, and I know having sat in that stand normally that it is difficult and there is a drop to get to the pitch level," Harrison says. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. The Documentary highlighted the 'poison pen letters' and graffiti targeted at the then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham over accusations that he was in some way personally responsible for the deaths of the 56 people who died at the fire.[54]. "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. Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame [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. 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. 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. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. "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.". 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. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. 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). [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. 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. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. 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. 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. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. 1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania, killed 170. 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. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. 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. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds within the following thirty years. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. Martin Fletcher was talking to BBC Look North. 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. [15] They included three who tried to escape through the toilets, 27 who were found by exit K and turnstiles 6 to 9 at the rear centre of the stand, and two elderly people who had died in their seats. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. The 1985 Bradford City Stadium fire remembered - IFSEC Global We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. 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. 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. Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. 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. We didn't know how serious it was.". 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. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. 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. His father Tony went back the following day and said: "I wondered how anybody had got out alive, but I also began to feel guilty that I had got out when so many hadn't." Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. It's terrifying how quickly fire spreads in the wrong circumstances. Fifty-six people died. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. 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. Bradford City stadium fire disaster: In memory of the 56 victims Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". "I walked past a public telephone outside the ground and there were queues of people waiting to ring home to say: 'I'm OK'. In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. "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 started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. 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. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. ", Hendrie: "We stayed in the pub for hours. [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. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". 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. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. ', 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 Bradford City Stadium Fire 1985 - The Football Inferno "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. 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. **The Bradford City Stadium Tragedy** - Firehouse "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. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. Criticising Bradford City during the case, Mr. Michael Ogden QC, highlighted that the Club 'gave no or very little thought to fire precautions', despite repeated warnings. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . 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. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.[10]. 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. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. 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. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. Mr Tony Delahunte, who was presenting a programme from the ground for Pennine Radio, said 'The fire seemed to me to start with a smoke bomb. All Rights Reserved. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. All you could hear was sirens and screams. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. He lit a cigarette and when it was coming to an end he put it down on to the floorboard and tried to put his foot on it to put it out. Part of the Appeal funds were raised by a recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone"[42] from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel by The Crowd (including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who had recorded the 1963 version that led to Liverpool adopting it as their motto and team song), which reached number one in the UK Singles chart. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. It was an awful thing to watch.". People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair on fire. As a result, Bradford-born captain Peter Jackson was presented with the league trophy before the final game of the season with mid-table Lincoln City at Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. 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. [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 game was irrelevant. 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. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. '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 match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. At the time of the disaster, many stadiums had perimeter fencing between the stands and the pitch to prevent incidents of football hooliganism particularly pitch invasions which were rife during the 1980s. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. 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. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. Footage of the accident at this point shows levels of confusion among the spectatorswhile many were trying to escape or to cross the pitch to the relative safety of the neighbouring stands, other spectators were observed cheering or waving to the still-rolling pitchside cameras. He was asked if precautions would have been adequate had the club been in the Second Division. The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. 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. The smoke was choking. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. The heat was so intense it caused car windows to shatter in the street. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . It was unprecedented.". Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. England won the re-match 64. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. The chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. Bradford City fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette 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. 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. Burning Man - Wikipedia Bradford City Stadium Fire - Saturday 11th May 1985 56 people dead. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. The Bradford City stadium fire : r/MorbidReality The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. Luckily, his father arrived home shortly after he did, but 30 years on, he still remembers the young woman who served him a Mars Bar and his father a coffee, who never made it out of the stadium. On the recording are Dene Michael (Black Lace), The Chuckle Brothers, Clive Jackson of Dr & The Medics, Owen Paul, Billy Pearce, Billy Shears, Flint Bedrock, Danny Tetley and Rick Wild of The Overlanders. "I was in the main stand when the fire happened," he says. 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.
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