By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. 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. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. [6] 1908 - Parker Building, New York City, January 10. The blaze is believed to have begun when a dropped cigarette lit rubbish under the wooden seats of the wooden Main Stand at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. [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. In March 1985 the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. 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. He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. One man clambered over burning seats to help a fan, as did player John Hawley, and one officer led fans to an exit, only to find it shut and turn around.Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand, ran onto the pitch to help evacuate people. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. According to ABC News, though, several hundred people in the Chinese city of Luoyang decided to cut loose on Christmas night 2000 by heading to a nightclub housed on the fourth floor of a multi-use industrial building.A fire broke out in the basement of the structure . 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 . Some days I had two operations in a day. I have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. After its renovation in 1990 they named the home end of their ground the 'Stacey-West Stand', in honour of Bill Stacey and Jim West, the two Lincoln City supporters who were amongst the 56 to die at Bradford. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. [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. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. It seemed to put it out. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. She was an. Fifty-six people died. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. "The referee blew his whistle to stop the game and told us to get back to the dressing room.". But the sheer density of numbers coupled with the thick, choking smoke made people collapse. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. 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. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. You could hardly breathe. What Is Burning Man? Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. 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. The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. BurningMan.NYC will announce the dates and process for the 2023 grant cycle on this site & all BurningMan.NYC social channels in early Spring. 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. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. Mr Stefan Krolak, a survivor from Bradford , said he saw the smoke start a few seats away from him 'The smoke seemed suddenly to set on fire. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. [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. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. "[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'. [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. 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 courts held the club to be two thirds responsible, finding that it gave "no or very little thought to fire precautions" despite repeated warnings. It detailed the safety work which would be carried out at Valley Parade as a result of the club's promotion, admitting the ground was "inadequate in so many ways for modern requirements". ", 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 chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. [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. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. [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. [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. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. 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. 'They did not have a chance. ", 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. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". [52], On 1 May 2010, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fire the football TV show Football Focus was hosted from Valley Parade by Dan Walker, the show included interviews with Terry Yorath and John Hendrie. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the football club area, who was injured in the fire said that many policemen cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. 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. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. All Rights Reserved. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . 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. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. Surviving supporters, former Bradford players, the sole television commentator at the stadium and the judge who led the government inquiry tell the BBC about that fateful afternoon and its aftermath. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. Fifty-six people died. 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. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. All that was left of. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. 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. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. "[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. [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. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. 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. 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. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. 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. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. At the final home match against Barnsley at the end of April, Bradford City fans collected more than 8,000 in a bucket collection. 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. [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. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.".
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