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[10] Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand,[19] ran onto the pitch to help evacuate people. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. [19] One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. [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. Hillsborough looms the largest in our collective consciousness, but there were also the many deaths that occurred at Heysel Stadium in 1985, as well as the Bradford City stadium fire that same year. 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. Town began to paint two years ago, first of the old Bradford Park Avenue ground, before moving onto other stadiums. 56 dead and hundreds more injured. 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. The fact the inquiry also embraced the investigation into another incident which happened on the same day, a riot in which a young boy died at Birmingham City, makes it seem more frivolous. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. The 1985 Bradford City Football Stadium Fire What Happened and Why We couldn't breathe. [11], The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. BBC Sport looks back at the Bradford City fire disaster that claimed the lives of 56 spectators when a stand became engulfed in flames on 11 May 1985. "We couldn't run back down the tunnel. Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. 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 scene in there was one of silence and shock. 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. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. Bradford City fire: Police reveal who was responsible for 1985 Valley The book also raises concerns about the speed of the inquiry and the fact that it commenced a few weeks after the fire and lasted for only a few days, whereas other inquiries into similar incidents, pre and post the Bradford fire, have taken years to come to fruition and months to be heard. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. Fletcher has taken facts and presented them in such a way that it should make it moralistically impossible for this incident not to be looked at again. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. 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. She was an. "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. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. [36], In 2010, Susan Fletcher's son and survivor of the Bradford City fire (and witness to the Hillsborough disaster), Martin Fletcher, openly criticised the club's hierarchy at the time of the fire and the subsequent investigation. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. 'It is the worst day in my life. 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. 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." [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. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" 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. Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". We use necessary cookies to make our site work. 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. 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. 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. "I saw people die in the stand - but it was only until then that I realised the scale of it.". [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. [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. At the final home match against Barnsley at the end of April, Bradford City fans collected more than 8,000 in a bucket collection. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights. 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. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. 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. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences. 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. "[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. Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 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 . I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. Soon they were all running for their lives. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. 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.. Others ran forward to try to clamber over a fence and a small wall on to the pitch. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". I do not include the people currently running the club, who have always displayed a great, sensitive duty to the memory of those who died. 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. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." Footage of the accident at this point shows levels of confusion among the spectatorswhile many were trying to escape or to cross the pitch to the relative safety of the neighbouring stands, other spectators were observed cheering or waving to the still-rolling pitchside cameras. 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. 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. "It made me realise life is too short." [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. 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. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices Burning timbers and molten materials fell from the roof onto the crowd and seating below, and dense black smoke enveloped a passageway behind the stand, where many spectators were trying to escape. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds within the following thirty years. [40] Matthew Wildman was 17 at the time and needed crutches to walk because of rheumatoid arthritis. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. 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'. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. Bradford fire 11.5.1985.mpg - video Dailymotion Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". Bradford City stadium fire - Wikipedia I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. A capacity 6,000 crowd attended a multi-denominational memorial service, held on the pitch in the sunny shadow of the burnt out stand at Valley Parade in July 1985. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. 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. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. The game was irrelevant. The money raised from this record was contributed to fund the internationally renowned burns unit that was established in partnership between the University of Bradford and Bradford Royal Infirmary, immediately after the fire, which has also been Bradford City's official charity for well over a decade. Survival Guide 2022 They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. Within five minutes the whole stand was engulfed in flames. Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. "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. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. It seemed to put it out. Come celebrate the beastly realm and our place in it and with it, an even more radically inclusive and sustainable city and global community in 2023: ANIMALIA! Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. 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. The Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. [45] In total, 28 police officers and 22 supporters, who were publicly documented as having saved at least one life, later received police commendations or bravery awards. All you could hear was sirens and screams. The Great Fire of London, 1212 | Sky HISTORY TV Channel By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. 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. A fire at a third division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City killed 56, including 11 children, and injured hundreds more.