[31] In 1988, the first compensation payments were made to survivors of the fire, with over 40 people receiving up to 40,000 each. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. 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". All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. "[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. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. 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. Others ran forward to try to clamber over a fence and a small wall on to the pitch. Lincoln City's board responded by committing 1.1million (3.5million today) to their ground's renovation in the year that immediately followed the fire at Valley Parade, and over the following decade made improvements that eventually totalled 3million. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". Fire on Upper Castle Street, Bradford Yorkshire Evening Post On This Day 1985: The Bradford City Fire 0:15 Bradford Mill fire 24:43 The Bradford Fire 0:26 Large fire in Bradford Yorkshire Evening Post Bradford Mill fire 0:34 Bradford Great Horton Mill fire 0:10 Fire at Bradford school (video: Glynn Beck) 4:05 bradford city fc fire 1985 So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.". Bradford fan Matthew Wildman, who was aged 17 and using crutches because of rheumatoid arthritis: "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. 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. The team was presented with the Division Three championship trophy - their first trophy in 56 years - in front of 11,000 jubilant fans before the start of their match against Lincoln City. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. The stories of escapes are legion. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. 56 people dead. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. 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 . [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. 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. 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. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. The 1985 Bradford City Football Stadium Fire What Happened and Why 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. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. [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. I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken Daniel Taylor The policewoman assigned to the grieving Fletchers gets goosebumps when she looks back to 30 years ago. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. The game was irrelevant. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. I ran to the stand and tried to help people escape. 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. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. 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.. It was appalling that public money was given to the club while it was still owned by the same shareholders under whose direction the fire had happened. Burning timber and molten material began to fall onto the seating below and black smoke enveloped the passageway behind, where fans were trying to escape. All that was left of. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that Burning Man NYC 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. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. I dread to imagine how many more could have died if the wind had been blowing in the direction of the pitch, instead of away from it. The chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds within the following thirty years. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire "That was the legacy of the tragedy. The plastic surgeon who treated the injuries of over 200, Professor David Sharpe, went on to set up a world-renowned burns research facility at the University of Bradford. 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. Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. [51] Another book; 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015) was written by Martin Fletcher to discuss how the disaster was caused, and follows his loss of his father, brother, uncle and grandfather. 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. 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. And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. We, and the world, need Burning Man and Black Rock City more than ever. It has a black marble fascia on which the names and ages of those that died are inscribed in gold, and a black marble platform on which people can leave flowers and mementos. 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. 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. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. 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". [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. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. "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. I had no idea. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. [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 fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. They were at fault, but the fault was that no-one in authority seems ever to have properly appreciated the real gravity of this fire hazard and consequently no-one gave it the attention it certainly ought to have received. [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. There was hardly anything left of him.'. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. Within five minutes the whole stand was engulfed in flames. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. Burning Man - Wikipedia It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. I don't see that. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken 05/10/15 AT 12:00 PM BST Crowds on the pitch at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium after the stand caught fire Getty Images Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. "All you could see was black cloud. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. 1908 - Collinwood school fire, in Collinwood, Ohio (soon absorbed by Cleveland ), on March 4, killed 175. People were falling on to each other and screaming. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. [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. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. "[55], Adams also went on to state that "I have read in some newspapers that he is being berated for his campaign to have a new inquiry. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. [58] Following this report, Leslie Brownlie, who was the nephew in question, is reported to have said that his uncle never made such an admission of starting the fire. 'The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". 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 pile of rubbish that had been building up below. "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. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. Some people seem to have run back up the slope, thinking that they could get back through the turnstiles, and were burned alive. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. 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. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. 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. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. 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 fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. 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'The smoke was very, very dense. Bradford City stadium fire. A football match in Bradford UK ends We wanted to record the trophy presentation. We didn't know how serious it was.". So I decided to give it that next push. [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. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. 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. 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. "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.