527 votes, 98 comments. ", 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. Then flames licked the underside of the seats, which were a combination of wood and plastic. Fifty-six people died. [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. Bradford fire 11.5.1985.mpg - video Dailymotion Bradford City FC stadium fire | 11th May 1985 | Fire Brigades Union [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. 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. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. Below the seats were rows of litter which had piled up throughout the season, said witnesses. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. Speculation an Australian man started the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 IT killed 56 people and destroyed an entire stadium. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. Bradford City fire was started by a tourist who dropped a cigarette Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. It's a nice little business and it's something positive that came out of a tragedy. After 40 minutes of the first half, fans had begun to complain about the drab match and the 0-0 score. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 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. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. Loading. 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". The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. All you could hear was sirens and screams. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. England won the re-match 64. "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. 1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania, killed 170. 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. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. 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. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". One elderly man started to walk across the pitch with his clothes and face ablaze. The Bradford City stadium fire : r/MorbidReality The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". After the fire, Bradford City also announced they would thereafter play with a black trim on their shirt sleeves as a permanent memorial to those who had died. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. That duty was not a duty to the Club but a duty to the spectators and other persons in the stand. There was hardly anything left of him.'. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. "It is hard to imagine how Martin and his mother have managed to cope over the last 30 years and we have always respected him," Harrison says. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". Bradford City stadium fire disaster: In memory of the 56 victims It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". [10] Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand,[19] ran onto the pitch to help evacuate people. 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. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. 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.. We had not been told anything.". I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The Most Tragic Nightclub Fires In History - Grunge.com "The one thing I remember at the time is we were grateful that we got an answer quickly after the inquiry. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. His son Christopher normally watches from the stand but on Saturday he joined other fans elsewhere. 'It is the worst day in my life. "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.". However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. Last edited: May 11, 2021 May 11, 2019 #2 JohnnyKills Full Member Joined Jan 8, 2016 Messages 6,902 Yeah footage is horrendous isn't it. [5] However, he also warned the club of a build-up of litter beneath the stand because of a gap between the seats. Parents and children were laughing and joking with the police as the preliminaries to the game began. People were scrambling for their lives to get out, and I know having sat in that stand normally that it is difficult and there is a drop to get to the pitch level," Harrison says. Brooklyn fire: Lumber storage warehouse in Williamsburg goes up in 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. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. For the 30th anniversary of the fire a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was recorded at Voltage Studios in Bradford. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. The Great Fire of London, 1212 | Sky HISTORY TV Channel His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. 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. [13], The match kicked off at 3:04pm and after forty minutes of the first half, the score remained 00,[14] in what was described as a drab affair with neither team threatening to score. Fletcher said that "The club at the time took no actual responsibility for its actions and nobody has ever really been held accountable for the level of negligence which took place. The timber construction of St. Andrew's Stand, Main Stand and the roof of its popular Railway End terrace were immediately condemned as fire hazards, which saw seating capacity briefly cut to nil. Burning Man Countdown | Burning Man Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. 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. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. From 50 to 60 yards away, it was burning our faces it was unbearable. In March 1985 the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. Survival Guide 2022 "[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'. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia Fletcher, who was 12 at the time of the fire, does not make any direct allegations but he does believe Heginbotham's history with fires resulting in payouts of around 27m in today's terms warrants further investigation. [29] The Health and Safety Executive who were also part of the legal action were found to be non-liable. 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. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. There were no fire extinguishers. Interviews conducted by BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Daley. The game was irrelevant.". I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. You could hardly breathe. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. 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 "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.". Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. 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]. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters [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. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. "The letters that went to the club, the council's failings, the police's failings, even as supporters we allowed a culture where the gates were locked. [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. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. So I decided to give it that next push. 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. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". That's when everybody else had the same thought. Soon they were all running for their lives. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden bench consumed the entire stand in under four minutes.Original TV footage: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31qcmtIf you would like to support this channel - https://buymeacoffee.com/TheRavensEyeAlthough focused primarily on disasters, this channel is all about the interesting, the strange, the unsolved, the tragic. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. Since then, it has been further re-developed and, today, Valley Parade is a modern 25,136 all-seater stadium, which is virtually unrecognisable from how it was at the time of the disaster, save for the original clubhouse that still stands beside the main stand, and the flank support wall that runs down the Hollywell Ash Lane at the "Bradford End". Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. 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. Hideous images linger after carnage of 'celebration' day I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. 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 . Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. 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 . They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. 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. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. Following the hearing in 1986, a test case was brought against the club by David Britton, a police sergeant serving on the day, and by Susan Fletcher, who lost her husband John, 11-year-old son Andrew, John's brother Peter and his father Edmond in the fire. 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. 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. What Is Burning Man? "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. Called 'The 56' the play dramatises actual accounts of the Bradford City Fire with the purpose of the play showing how in times of adversity, the Football Club and the local community came together. The two sides met for the first time after the fire in April 1989, when they arranged a benefit match in aid of the Hillsborough disaster, at Valley Parade. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. "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. I had no idea. 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? "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Edited by BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko. Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night.
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