Fifty-six people died. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. ", Hendrie: "The players were told to go to the pub at the top of the road, we didn't know at this point if anyone had been killed. The inquiry had found that the club had been warned that the accumulation of rubbish beneath the stands was a fire risk. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. "I got pushed down to the front and I remember looking around and suddenly this smouldering, small fire had taken over virtually half a block and was starting to hit the roof. And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. 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. 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. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. She was an. ", 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. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. [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. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. 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. More than 250 others were injured in one of the. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. 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. Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. "[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. 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. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. [8][9] In the crowd were local dignitaries and guests from three of Bradford's twin townsVerviers in Belgium, and Mnchengladbach and Hamm in West Germany. 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. 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. 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. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. The stories of escapes are legion. '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.'. (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. 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. Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. At the time, however, Harrison says, Bradford just wanted to move on. "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. [2] The main stand was described as a "mammoth structure", but was unusual for its time because of its place on the side of a hill. "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. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. Pendleton: "I got pushed down to the front and I remember looking around and suddenly this smouldering, small fire had taken over virtually half a block and was starting to hit the roof. 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 . 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 smoke was choking. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. More than 3,500 people were crammed into the main stand area and this prevented people from moving away from the blaze quickly. 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. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. Others ran forward to try to clamber over a fence and a small wall on to the pitch. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". That's when everybody else had the same thought. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. 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. It spelt out 'thank you fans'. 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. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. 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. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. One elderly man started to walk across the pitch with his clothes and face ablaze. "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. It was an awful thing to watch.". It seemed to put it out. 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. 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. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . 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. 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. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. All Rights Reserved. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Guided by the values expressed by the 10 Principles, Burning Man is a global ecosystem of artists, makers, and community organizers who co-create art, events, and local initiatives around the world. [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. It was to be our day,' he said. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. 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. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.[10]. Hendrie: "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. 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. 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. [citation needed] Mathew Wildman, aged 17 at the time of the fire, commented that "I must have had five different experiments carried out on me with all sorts of new techniques for skin grafts and I had potions injected into me that helped my face repair naturally over time. Stories From 11 May. Fletcher, who was 12 at the time of the fire, does not make any direct allegations but he does believe Heginbotham's history with fires resulting in payouts of around 27m in today's terms warrants further investigation. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. "It is unbelievable how quickly the fire took hold. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. "[16] As spectators began to cascade over the wall separating the stand from the pitch, the linesman on that side of the pitch informed referee Norman Glover, who stopped the game with three minutes remaining before half-time.
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