[3] It included a main stand which seated 5,300fans, and had room for a further 7,000 standing spectators in the paddock in front. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. People pushed him to the ground and tried to smother the flames. 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. 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. Martin Fletcher, whose brother, father, grandfather and uncle all died in the fire: "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.
Bradford City fire: Police reveal who was responsible for 1985 Valley Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". [15], At 3:44pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a firea glowing lightwas noticed three rows from the back of block G,[10][16] as reported by television commentator John Helm. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden bench consumed the entire stand in under four minutes.Original TV footage: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31qcmtIf you would like to support this channel - https://buymeacoffee.com/TheRavensEyeAlthough focused primarily on disasters, this channel is all about the interesting, the strange, the unsolved, the tragic. I've never seen anything like it. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. 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. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. This day was for them. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. 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. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". 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. "All you could see was black cloud. "I looked up and saw the flames.
Hideous images linger after carnage of 'celebration' day All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. Stories From 11 May.
Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns 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. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. 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 was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. 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. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters 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.". [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. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. [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. The worst fire disaster in English football history played out on live television on May 11, after Valley Parade's main stand caught fire during a match between Bradford City and Lincoln City on . We use necessary cookies to make our site work. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd.
The Bradford City Stadium Fire 1985 - The Football Inferno Survival Guide 2022 Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre.
Bradford City stadium fire - Wikipedia Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. "[11] Police Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the area, said many of his officers cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. 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. "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. Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. [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. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. That's when everybody else had the same thought. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. It was to be our day,' he said. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. 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. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. It spelt out 'thank you fans'. Loading. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. Pendleton: "I walked past a public telephone outside the ground and there were queues of people waiting to ring home to say: 'I'm OK'. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. There were no fire extinguishers. I have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. 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."
Bradford City stadium fire disaster: In memory of the 56 victims [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. [40] Matthew Wildman was 17 at the time and needed crutches to walk because of rheumatoid arthritis. Artist Paul Town, who now lives in Baildon, was 15 at the time of the fire. 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. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. 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. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. 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. It took the firemen four minutes to arrive at the ground but the speed of the fire was such that the blaze also took only four minutes to grip the entire stand. You could hardly breathe. 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. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash.
Grenfell among the UK's worst fire and tower tragedies 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 fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. 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. [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 intensity of the blaze which spread 'quicker than people could walk' destroyed the main stand area, leaving a skeleton of burned seats, lamps and fences. 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. 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. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. [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. Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. ", Hendrie: "We stayed in the pub for hours. 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 local council was deemed to be one third responsible. People were falling on to each other and screaming. From 50 to 60 yards away, it was burning our faces it was unbearable. ', 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. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices There was hardly anything left of him.'. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. [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. "[23], On the 25th anniversary of the fire, the University of Bradford established the United Kingdom's largest academic research centre in skin sciences as an extension to its plastic surgery and burns research unit.[24]. [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. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. 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. 'They did not have a chance. [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 fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette 'This was a dreadful afternoon. They were not able to use water on the stand immediately because this would have hampered attempts to rescue people being dragged by the police and friends from the stand. 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. 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. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. 1908 - Collinwood school fire, in Collinwood, Ohio (soon absorbed by Cleveland ), on March 4, killed 175. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. 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. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 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. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. 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. 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. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. "I saw people die in the stand - but it was only until then that I realised the scale of it.". 24 Bradford City A.F.C. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. 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. Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. 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. Interviews conducted by BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Daley. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. She was an. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. 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.. The Man burns on September 02, 2023. 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. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". 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. 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. People were arriving in a daze outside Bradford police headquarters on Saturday evening and early yesterday. It wasn't just something that happened in the past.". 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. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. As he scaled the brick perimeter wall at the front, his father stayed behind to help others escape. The team's coach, Mr Terry Yorath, ran on to the pitch to try to help people away from the stand. "[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. [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. "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. We had not been told anything.". We couldn't breathe. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. The game was irrelevant.".
The Bradford city stadium fire. 56 people died when a - reddit 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.
List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia