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 face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. 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. It was to be our day,' he said. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. Among the main outcomes of the inquiry were the banning of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds, the immediate closure of other wooden stands deemed unsafe and the banning of smoking in other wooden stands. Valley Parade in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was built in 1886 and was initially the home ground of Manningham Rugby Football Club. It was an awful thing to watch.". [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. There has been reports of people lighting paper under the seats, and it was important that as many fans as possible who were in the stand or at the Kop end contacted the police. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. 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. He later died in hospital. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. Once we went out it was mayhem, manic, chaotic. "[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. I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. Within 48 hours of the disaster, the Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund had been set up and would eventually raise over 3.5m ($5.4m). The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. '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.'. Website by, Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985, Fundraising for firefighters and their families. People were arriving in a daze outside Bradford police headquarters on Saturday evening and early yesterday. 'The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. People had walked through turnstiles and along a wooden corridor before descending the steps into their seats. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. Within five minutes the whole stand was engulfed in flames. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . 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. Popplewell's report was nowhere close to the quality of Lord Justice Taylor's report after Hillsborough, and since reading it as an adult I have always been very disappointed in it and considered it a poor piece of work. Steel was to be installed in the roof,[8] and the wooden terracing was to be replaced with concrete. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. The horrific scenes of people burning alive seemed to live on in an eerie silence as daylight broke over the remains of Bradford City Football Club's ground yesterday. 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. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. "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. Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. What Is Burning Man? Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. We had not been told anything.". he asks. Brooklyn fire: Lumber storage warehouse in Williamsburg goes up in Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. [7] As it was the first piece of league silverware that the club had captured since they won the Division Three (North) title 56years earlier, 11,076supporters were in the ground. Hendrie: "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. More than 200 people were taken to hospital, many with terrible injuries. We accepted it was an accident, nobody wanted to blame the club because it was the club we wanted to support. You could hardly breathe. In the last few years, the BCFC kit-man John Duckworth did a sponsored 73-mile walk between Lincoln's Sincil Bank stadium and Valley Parade, joined by Bradford fans along the way. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. As he received the injured at Bradford Royal Infirmary he was able to call upon 10% of the UK's population of plastic surgeons. Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns She was an. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. 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. [56], On 17 April 2015, retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer, in a report by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, said the police were aware of an Australian man who admitted to starting the fire. I've never seen anything like it. Fire kills 50 at soccer stadium - HISTORY Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. Burning Man.NYC. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. 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. Since then, it has been further re-developed and, today, Valley Parade is a modern 25,136 all-seater stadium, which is virtually unrecognisable from how it was at the time of the disaster, save for the original clubhouse that still stands beside the main stand, and the flank support wall that runs down the Hollywell Ash Lane at the "Bradford End". It is a simple account laid out for all to see. Bradford fire 11.5.1985.mpg - video Dailymotion "[27], After controversial comments made by Popplewell about the Hillsborough Disaster, Fletcher raised further concerns about the events following the fire saying that "I have many unanswered questions still about the fire in which four of my family died, as does my mother. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken 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. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. [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 Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. 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 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. [30], The outcome of the test case resulted in over 154 claims being addressed (110 civilians and 44 police officers)[31] by the injured or bereaved. The heat was so intense it caused car windows to shatter in the street. [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. [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. As he scaled the brick perimeter wall at the front, his father stayed behind to help others escape. The 1985 Bradford City Football Stadium Fire What Happened and Why And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. 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'. 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. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. The two sides met for the first time after the fire in April 1989, when they arranged a benefit match in aid of the Hillsborough disaster, at Valley Parade. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. The other, situated by the main entrance, was donated by the club after its 7.5million (13million today) rebuilding of the original main stand in 2002. "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. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. 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. 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.. 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. 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. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Some people seem to have run back up the slope, thinking that they could get back through the turnstiles, and were burned alive. The courts held the club to be two thirds responsible, finding that it gave "no or very little thought to fire precautions" despite repeated warnings. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. The 4-alarm fire started in a one-story lumber storage building and spread to an adjacent building . Grenfell among the UK's worst fire and tower tragedies BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire All you could hear was sirens and screams. "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". 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. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. Treatment of casualties and Burns Research Unit, Dramatisations, documentaries and published works, West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of accidents and disasters by death toll, List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll, "Hideous images linger after carnage of 'celebration' day", "Caught in Time: Bradford City win the Third Division, 1985", "EXCLUSIVE: Bradford's Valley Parade fire must be remembered like Hillsborough", "History of The Bradford Sling The Bradford Sling", "Bradford City football stadium blaze surgeon honoured", "Research centre to be living memorial to Bradford City FC fire disaster", "The Papers of the Popplewell Inquiry into Crowd Safety at Sports Grounds", "Popplewell Inquiry Bradford City Fire", "Bradford remembered: The unheeded warnings that led to tragedy", Joseph Canley summing up statement from test case court transcripts, Newspaper report from Sport and the Law April 21st 1989, "The Glasgow Herald Google News Archive Search", Los Angeles Times report on Bradford City test case findings, Court transcript from the test case brought by Susan Fletcher and Others against Bradford City and Others, "Bradford fire survivor attacks judge over Hillsborough comments", "The Story of the Bradford Fire: 'could any man really be as unlucky as Stafford Heginbotham?
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