Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. [19] One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. 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. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. 1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. [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. 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. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. It is a simple account laid out for all to see. > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. 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. When the game began there was no way out for them, except by going on to the pitch. The game was irrelevant.". And all you could smell was burning.". 'The smoke was very, very dense. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. [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. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. 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. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. The game was irrelevant. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. 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. You could hardly breathe. 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." 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?. "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. 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. This day was for them. 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. People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair 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. Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. 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. 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 family was in tears, the mother shaking. 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. 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. We had not been told anything.". The flames suddenly appeared and the whole roof took alight,' he said. The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. From 50 to 60 yards away, it was burning our faces it was unbearable. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. 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. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". The fire happened during a football match. 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. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. [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. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.[10]. The money raised from this record was contributed to fund the internationally renowned burns unit that was established in partnership between the University of Bradford and Bradford Royal Infirmary, immediately after the fire, which has also been Bradford City's official charity for well over a decade. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. 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'. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. [27], Explaining his decision, Sir Joseph Cantley stated: "As I have already stated, the primary duty was on the Club and the functions of the County Council were supervisory and its liability is for negligent breach of a common law duty arising out of the way in which they dealt with or ignored their statutory powers. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. [citation needed] Spectators later spoke of initially feeling their feet becoming warmer; one of them ran to the back of the stand for a fire extinguisher but found none. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. 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 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. 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. 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. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. I've never seen anything like it. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". 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. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. 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). Fifty-six people died. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. 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 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. It spelt out 'thank you fans'. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. 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. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . The inquiry had found that the club had been warned that the accumulation of rubbish beneath the stands was a fire risk. The Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. 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. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. [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. 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. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. Of the 56 people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. 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. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. 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. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. [45] PCs Peter Donald Barrett and David Charles Midgley, along with spectators Michael William Bland and Timothy Peter Leigh received the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. It made me realise life is too short and I'm a happier person for it.". On 11 May 1985 a fire erupted in the midst of a third-division tie between Bradford City and Lincoln City at Valley Parade, killing 54 home supporters and two Lincoln fans. We couldn't breathe. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. Hendrie: "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". The blaze, at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, killed 87 people, the . ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. "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 extinguishers were put there so that they would be out of the way of fans who could use them as missiles, which apparently had happened previously. 527 votes, 98 comments. We didn't know how serious it was.". "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. The smoke was choking. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. The main stand at Valley Parade burned down after what was thought to be a dropped cigarette led to flames which engulfed the entire wooden structure. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. A capacity 6,000 crowd attended a multi-denominational memorial service, held on the pitch in the sunny shadow of the burnt out stand at Valley Parade in July 1985. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. 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. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. 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. [32] Speaking at the close of the case, the Judge said "They (the club) were at fault, no one in authority seemed to have appreciated the fire hazard. "We went out on to the pitch and I could see so many happy faces. 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'. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. [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. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. [6] 1908 - Parker Building, New York City, January 10. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. The smoke was choking. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. [49], Parrs Wood Press published Four Minutes to Hell: The Story of the Bradford City Fire (2005) by author Paul Firth;[50] the title refers to the estimated time it took for the stand to be completely ablaze from the first flames being spotted. That duty was not a duty to the Club but a duty to the spectators and other persons in the stand. I had no idea. [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. It was an awful thing to watch.". 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. [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. The stories of escapes are legion. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. 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. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. This included the banning of new wooden grandstands at all sports venues in the UK. Parents and children were laughing and joking with the police as the preliminaries to the game began. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. [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. 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. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. Thirty years on, the majority of survivors still find it too difficult to talk about what happened at the Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. I don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding. He went on to state: "In 1985 fire investigation in Britain was in its infancy and some would say at that time most fire investigators were not much more than dust-kickers. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. 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. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. 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. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices All that was left of. "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. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. 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. There were no fire extinguishers. ", "If the inquiry is opened again, we will await to see what evidence there is to prove is wasn't an accident," he says. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. More than 250 others were injured in one of the. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . [2] By 1911, his work was completed. "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. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". "I parked my van outside because I started making enough money painting as I was in construction.
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