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. [32] Speaking at the close of the case, the Judge said "They (the club) were at fault, no one in authority seemed to have appreciated the fire hazard. So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.". Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. It was unprecedented.". 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. 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! Bradford City initially prospered in the Second Division only missing out on promotion to the First Division in 1988 after failing to beat Ipswich Town at home on the final day of their first full season back at Valley Parade. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. Some repair work was carried out, but in July 1984 the club was warned again, this time by a county council engineer, because of the club's plans to claim for ground improvements from the Football Trust. [34], During the case, Sir Joseph Cantley stated that: "It is only right that I should say that I think it would be unfair to conclude that Heginbotham, Tordoff, the Board of Directors, or any of them, were intentionally and callously indifferent to the safety of spectators using the stand. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. he asks. 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. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. Instead it turned into a day of appalling tragedy. Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". By this date the appeal fund set up for survivors had paid out more than 4m with further payouts expected as the effects of physical and mental injury were determined. "Me and my dad eventually got out safely but it was a bit of a struggle at one point because the walls getting down to the pitch level were quite high I didn't get a growth spurt until I was 16 or 17.". "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. The stories of escapes are legion. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. "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. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. [8][10] Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside, which again helped prevent further deaths. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. More than 250 others were injured in one of the. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. 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. 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." 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. "That was the legacy of the tragedy. 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'. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. "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. 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. Interviews conducted by BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Daley. [39], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. 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. He was actually one of the detectives involved in one of the gravest miscarriages of justices in the country, the murder of Carol Wilkinson in Bradford, where someone was locked up for 20 years for a murder he didn't commit."[60]. 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. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. Guided by the values expressed by the 10 Principles, Burning Man is a global ecosystem of artists, makers, and community organizers who co-create art, events, and local initiatives around the world. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. 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. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. [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. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. The Documentary highlighted the 'poison pen letters' and graffiti targeted at the then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham over accusations that he was in some way personally responsible for the deaths of the 56 people who died at the fire.[54]. 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 . I looked down and I saw my hands melting. The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . 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. [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. The game was irrelevant.". The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". Criticising Bradford City during the case, Mr. Michael Ogden QC, highlighted that the Club 'gave no or very little thought to fire precautions', despite repeated warnings. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. [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. 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. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". The fire claimed young and old alike, with most fatalities occurring at the rear of the stand where people sought escape only to find turnstiles locked. 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. 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. [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. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. He went on to state: "In 1985 fire investigation in Britain was in its infancy and some would say at that time most fire investigators were not much more than dust-kickers. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. The smoke was choking. It is not thought that there was any crowd trouble in this section but one theory the police are investigating is that a flare or smoke-bomb was thrown or was accidentally dropped. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. 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. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. 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. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. Bradford City players line up to observe a minutes silence for the 25th anniversary of the 1985 Bradford stadium fire prior to the Coca Cola League. [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. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". [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. ', Bradford City Fire Website messages of condolence from around the world, "Chuckle Brothers' single for Bradford City fire anniversary", "Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire", "Emotive play of Bradford City fire disaster raises cash for burns unit", "Book Review: Four Minutes to Hell: The Story of the Bradford City Fire by Paul Firth football book reviews", "Football Focus 1st May 2010 Bradford City Part 1", Bradford City A year of healing Documentary, "Bradford fire: expert demands new investigation into blaze", "Bradford City stadium fire 1985 IPCC investigation decision", "BRADFORD CITY FIRE: Accidental cause of tragedy 'not in any doubt', says detective", "Bradford City fire 'started by cigarette', "Bradford City fire: Briton attacks 'inaccurate' BBC documentary claiming his uncle started blaze", "Bradford fire: Sir Oliver Popplewell defends 1985 inquiry interview in full", Living with Jacko From Touchline to Lifeline, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire, The full Interim Report by Lord Popplewell into the Bradford City Fire, British Medical Journal article on the treatment of burns casualties after the Bradford City Fire, Peter Jackson's account of the Bradford City Fire, Nationally broadcast Yorkshire Television programme covering the fire, broadcast the following day, ITN bulletin covering the fire, also from the following day, ITN bulletin covering the aftermath, from three days later, Chelsea F.C. Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. Most of the exits at the back were locked or shut and there were no stewards present to open them, but seven were forced open or found open. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. 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. The smoke was choking. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. "It made me realise life is too short." "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". We use necessary cookies to make our site work. "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. At 3.40pm, five minutes before half-time, a glowing light was spotted three rows from the back of block G. "We were stood in line with the 18-yard, the penalty area, when we saw some smoke and a bit of fire diagonally from where we were. I had no idea. It is a simple account laid out for all to see. 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. I've never seen anything like it. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices 56 dead and hundreds more injured. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. [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. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . ", Hendrie: "We stayed in the pub for hours. 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? [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. Uncensored coverage of the fire was transmitted minutes after the event on World of Sport and the BBC's Grandstand after the video cassette was physically driven to Yorkshire Television. His son Christopher normally watches from the stand but on Saturday he joined other fans elsewhere. [29] The Health and Safety Executive who were also part of the legal action were found to be non-liable. 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. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. 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 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. "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. Some people seem to have run back up the slope, thinking that they could get back through the turnstiles, and were burned alive. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. We couldn't breathe. However, the responsibility of the Club is, in my view, very much the greater and I apportion responsibility between the two defendants as to two-thirds on the first defendant and one-third on the third (sic) defendant. Stories From 11 May. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. On 23 February 1987, Sir Joseph Cantley found the club two thirds responsible and the county council (which by this time had been abolished) one third responsible. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. [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. However, the turnstiles were locked and none of the stadium staff were present to unlock them, leaving no escape through the normal entrances and exits. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. You could hardly breathe. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. It was to be our day,' he said. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. "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. Artist Paul Town, who now lives in Baildon, was 15 at the time of the fire. 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. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. We, and the world, need Burning Man and Black Rock City more than ever. 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. [40] Matthew Wildman was 17 at the time and needed crutches to walk because of rheumatoid arthritis. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. A giant Christian cross, made up of two large charred wooden members[44] that had once been part of the stand, was constructed in front of the middle of the stand and behind the pitchside speaker's platform. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). "[16] As spectators began to cascade over the wall separating the stand from the pitch, the linesman on that side of the pitch informed referee Norman Glover, who stopped the game with three minutes remaining before half-time. On 11 May 1985 a blaze ripped through Bradford City stadium's wooden structure in minutes as the club played Lincoln City in an end of season match. 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. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. All that was left of. At the final home match against Barnsley at the end of April, Bradford City fans collected more than 8,000 in a bucket collection. 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. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. We had not been told anything.". [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. From 50 to 60 yards away, it was burning our faces it was unbearable. ", 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 is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. 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. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. 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 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. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. 'The smoke was very, very dense. 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 . All you could hear was sirens and screams. 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. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. He later died in hospital. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. But the sheer density of numbers coupled with the thick, choking smoke made people collapse. I have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. The worst fire disaster in English football history played out on live television on May 11, after Valley Parade's main stand caught fire during a match between Bradford City and Lincoln City on . Edited by BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko. More than 200 people were taken to hospital, many with terrible injuries. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. "[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.
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