He was asked if precautions would have been adequate had the club been in the Second Division. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. Stories From 11 May. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. "As a 15-year-old, you don't really know how much of an impact an event like that will have on your life," Town says. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. 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. 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. "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. '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.'. 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. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. 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.. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. The 4-alarm fire started in a one-story lumber storage building and spread to an adjacent building . Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . "I want the truth to be out, the myths to be broken, so that I can get on with my life rather than knowing this information and having to live with this information. The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. [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. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. More than 250 others were injured in one of the biggest disasters at a British football ground. Bradford fire: The Valley Parade disaster 30 years on Nigel Adams who worked for 12 years as a fire investigator with a British fire service was spurred on by the book to join the call for a fresh inquiry, stating that Fletcher's book was "one of the best accounts of a fire, as seen from a victim's point of view, and as a piece of investigative writing, I have ever read". [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. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. But the sheer density of numbers coupled with the thick, choking smoke made people collapse. Martin Fletcher was talking to BBC Look North. This day was for them. 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. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. [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. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. Bradford City stadium fire: Police identify man who 'dropped the 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. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. 'The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. Some days I had two operations in a day. [4] Football ground writer Simon Inglis had described the view from the stand as "like watching football from the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel" because of its antiquated supports and struts. 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. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. [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. [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. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. 199 Bradford City Stadium Fire Photos and Premium High Res Pictures Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. 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. Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. "[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. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. When Town reached the Midland Road side of the pitch, he was faced with horrific scenes of the injured being treated and comforted by ambulance crews, fans and players. Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. 1908 - Collinwood school fire, in Collinwood, Ohio (soon absorbed by Cleveland ), on March 4, killed 175. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. Bradford fire 11.5.1985.mpg - video Dailymotion There was hardly anything left of him.'. And all you could smell was burning.". The 1985 Bradford City Football Stadium Fire What Happened and Why "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. 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. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. 1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania, killed 170. [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. "I was supposed to meet my father at my grandfather's house, but I was a bit late so I went straight to the game so I didn't miss the festivities.". 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. 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. The stories of escapes are legion. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. 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. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. ", 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. Warnings had been issued over the ground's antiquated wooden structure, which had been condemned and was due to be pulled down and replaced with steel and concrete. [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 scene in there was one of silence and shock. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. [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. Below the seats were rows of litter which had piled up throughout the season, said witnesses. Each year Lincoln send representatives to the annual memorial service in Bradford city centre and between 2007 and 2009, were managed by Bradford's captain that day, Peter Jackson. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. 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. 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. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. 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. "[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].
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