[10] Of those who died, 11 were under-18 and 23 were aged 65 or over,[20] and the oldest victim was the club's former chairman, Sam Firth, aged 86. Pendleton: "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. 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. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. He later died in hospital. 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. One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. 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. People had walked through turnstiles and along a wooden corridor before descending the steps into their seats. A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. "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. [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. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. The Bradford Burns Unit was set up by Professor David Sharpe after he received many of the victims following the fire. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. Many who had walked out of the fire stood on the pitch looking back in horror as the flames destroyed the stand. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. 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. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. 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. 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? Hundreds more telephoned the police to try to trace relatives. Led by former England international Trevor Cherry, the Bantams won only their third divisional title and earned a return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1937. Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. 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. Wildman: "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. "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. "I've always loved art but I owned businesses in construction so I've never had the time or a chance to follow it up," he says. 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. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. 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. [19] One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. 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. His son Christopher normally watches from the stand but on Saturday he joined other fans elsewhere. "I looked up and saw the flames. 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. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . 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. 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. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. More than 250 others were injured in one of the biggest disasters at a British football ground. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. 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. 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. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. 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. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. The game was irrelevant.". Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. 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. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. [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. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. The mood before the match on the 11 May 1985 against Lincoln City was one of jubilation. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. "That was the legacy of the tragedy. "It is unbelievable how quickly the fire took hold. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair on fire. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. 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. Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. It was fairly clear that somebody had dropped a lighted match or cigarette between the floorboards.". The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. 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. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" Heginbotham died in 1995, aged 61, and was never prosecuted for the stadium fire, despite the coroner later saying he had given serious consideration to bringing a charge of manslaughter as the club had failed to act on three separate warnings about a potential fire risk. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. 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". He was asked if precautions would have been adequate had the club been in the Second Division. Twenty nine years ago on this date, 56 people tragically died when a fire erupted at Bradford City's Valley Parade ground The day was supposed to be one of celebration for Bradford who had just won the Third Division trophy. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. Hendrie: "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. ', 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. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. The fire at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium in which 56 people died and more than 270 were injured is remembered 25 years on. [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. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. I had no idea. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Martin Fletcher, a Bradford fan who lost three generations of his family in the fire, published a memoir of the tragic event called Fifty-Six The Story Of The Bradford Fire, in which he claimed the blaze at Valley Parade was one of nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with Heginbotham. 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). It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. [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. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. Some days I had two operations in a day. [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. Then flames licked the underside of the seats, which were a combination of wood and plastic. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. 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. The smoke was choking. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. Fifty-six people died. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. However, there is a lot in this book that troubles me about the science, or lack of it, used in the testing of the investigators' hypothesis as to the source of the ignition. "All you could see was black cloud. It was to be our day,' he said. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. [11], The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. People were falling on to each other and screaming. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. 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. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. 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. He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. "I was in the stand opposite when the fire broke out. [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.
How Far Is Sonesta Maho Beach Resort From Airport,
Fivem Prop List With Pictures,
Articles B
