Town began to paint two years ago, first of the old Bradford Park Avenue ground, before moving onto other stadiums. Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. [39], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. The smoke was choking. 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 . Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. [40] Matthew Wildman was 17 at the time and needed crutches to walk because of rheumatoid arthritis. Four police officers, constables David Britton and John Richard Ingham and chief inspectors Charles Frederick Mawson and Terence Michael Slocombe, and two spectators, Richard Gough and David Hustler, were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for their actions. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. 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. 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. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. We couldn't breathe. All you could hear was sirens and screams. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. People were falling on to each other and screaming. [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. There were no fire extinguishers. The fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. 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. 1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania, killed 170. [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 scene when I arrived was horrendous. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. [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. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernisation of many British football grounds within the following thirty years. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. [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. He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. The game was irrelevant. We had not been told anything.". 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. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" That's when everybody else had the same thought. "That was the legacy of the tragedy. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. You may notice some big changes in Black Rock City this year. 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]. 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . And all you could smell was burning.". The smoke was choking. "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. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. 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. "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. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. The chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. 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. Soon they were all running for their lives. "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.". Within a few hours of the blaze starting, it was established that 56 people had been killed, many as a result of smoke inhalation, although some of them had survived until reaching hospital.[11]. I have never had to deal with such a situation before, and this has put the city on its heels.'. The heat inside the stand literally ignited people where they stood. One letter from the council said the problems "should be rectified as soon as possible"; a second said: "A carelessly discarded cigarette could give rise to a fire risk." 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. [5] However, he also warned the club of a build-up of litter beneath the stand because of a gap between the seats. 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. 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! I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. 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. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. 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. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 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 Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. 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. It was to be our day,' he said. We accepted it was an accident, nobody wanted to blame the club because it was the club we wanted to support. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. 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. 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 don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. [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. [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 stand had no perimeter fencing to keep fans from accessing the pitch, thus averting an instance of crush asphyxia as in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. [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. Interviews conducted by BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Daley. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". [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. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. 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? "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. 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. More than 250 others were injured in one of the biggest disasters at a British football ground. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 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. He was asked if precautions would have been adequate had the club been in the Second Division. 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. Instead it turned into a day of appalling tragedy. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. [6], The 198485 season had been one of Bradford City's most successful seasons, ending with City clinching the championship title courtesy of a 20 victory against Bolton Wanderers in the penultimate game of the season. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. Bradford City were supposed to be celebrating on 11 May 1985. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. A fire at a third division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City killed 56, including 11 children, and injured hundreds more. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. "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. 'It is the worst day in my life. England won the re-match 64. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. Burning Man.NYC. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. Stories From 11 May. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. [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. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. The stories of escapes are legion. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. 56 people dead. 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 extinguishers were put there so that they would be out of the way of fans who could use them as missiles, which apparently had happened previously. [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. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . Those who escaped walked to a nearby pub to use the phone to ring home, while others arrived in a daze outside the police headquarters to try and trace relatives. [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. 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. "[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. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. He asks the reader to make their mind up about whether these fires were a coincidence or not.". 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. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. After 40 minutes of the first half, fans had begun to complain about the drab match and the 0-0 score. 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. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. It made me realise life is too short and I'm a happier person for it.". The mood before the match on the 11 May 1985 against Lincoln City was one of jubilation. [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. The Bradford City stadium fire occurred during a Football League Third Division match on Saturday, 11 May 1985 at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, killing 56 spectators and injuring at least 265. They were hampered further by the fact that doors at the back of the stand were locked to try to stop people coming in without paying. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. Helm later described the start of the fire in an interview to the Express newspaper: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, [A] man over from Australia visiting his son got two tickets to the game. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Following his own 15 year investigation Into the fire, which killed four of his family members while he escaped, former tax accountant Martin Fletcher released 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015). Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. 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. "I was in the main stand when the fire happened," he says. Of the 56 people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. I had no idea. 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. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences.
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