The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. You could hardly breathe. The horrific scenes of people burning alive seemed to live on in an eerie silence as daylight broke over the remains of Bradford City Football Club's ground yesterday. The blaze, at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, killed 87 people, the . There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". 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. That's when everybody else had the same thought. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. It's a nice little business and it's something positive that came out of a tragedy. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. There has been reports of people lighting paper under the seats, and it was important that as many fans as possible who were in the stand or at the Kop end contacted the police. "[23], On the 25th anniversary of the fire, the University of Bradford established the United Kingdom's largest academic research centre in skin sciences as an extension to its plastic surgery and burns research unit.[24]. "[55], Adams also went on to state that "I have read in some newspapers that he is being berated for his campaign to have a new inquiry. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. [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. "We couldn't run back down the tunnel. "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. He asks the reader to make their mind up about whether these fires were a coincidence or not.". "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. [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 wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. All you could hear was sirens and screams. 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]. Artist Paul Town, who now lives in Baildon, was 15 at the time of the fire. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. Hendrie: "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. I've never seen anything like it. We accepted it was an accident, nobody wanted to blame the club because it was the club we wanted to support. I had no idea. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. I saw one man lying on the ground, burning from head to foot. "Since then I have thought of everything we could have done, but we didn't have the presence of mind to run across the pitch and tell people to get out. The local council was deemed to be one third responsible. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. "When I got to one of the final walls, there was an eight-foot drop at the other side, concrete at the bottom. 1.7M subscribers in the CatastrophicFailure community. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Bradford City had just won the Third Division Championship and a record number of spectators over 11,000 had turned out to see the club presented with its first piece of league silverware in 56 years. 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). [57] Following the 30th anniversary of the fire, a number of news organisations named this man as Eric Bennett who was visiting his nephew in Bradford from Australia and attended the game on the day. Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire that devastated Valley Parade Thirty years after football's 'forgotten tragedy', the truth of what exactly happened when 56. 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. It was to be our day,' he said. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. Valley Parade re-opened on 14 December 1986, when Bradford City beat an England XI 21 in a friendly. Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. It's terrifying how quickly fire spreads in the wrong circumstances. "[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'. 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 Wildman: "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. 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. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. It is impossible so far to be accurate about the precise cause of the fire, with grossly conflicting reports from witnesses. A discarded cigarette and a dilapidated wooden stand, which had survived because the club did not have the money to replace it, and accumulated paper litter, were considered to have conspired to cause the worst disaster in the history of the Football League. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. But a minute or so later there was suddenly a bigger whoosh of smoke so they went to get a steward. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. 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. 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. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. 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." But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". Burning Man.NYC. Fifty-six people died. 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. It was unprecedented.". "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. [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. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. [31] In 1988, the first compensation payments were made to survivors of the fire, with over 40 people receiving up to 40,000 each. "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. Bradford City were supposed to be celebrating on 11 May 1985. 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. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices [39], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". "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 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 She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. 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. 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. 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.. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . One family was in tears, the mother shaking. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. The Man burns on September 02, 2023. One elderly man started to walk across the pitch with his clothes and face ablaze. The speed at which fire engulfs the entire stand is insane. It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. [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. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. BurningMan.NYC will announce the dates and process for the 2023 grant cycle on this site & all BurningMan.NYC social channels in early Spring. It was an awful thing to watch.". [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. 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. 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. 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. 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. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. And all you could smell was burning.". Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. 05/10/15 AT 12:00 PM BST Crowds on the pitch at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium after the stand caught fire Getty Images Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands. So I decided to give it that next push. It wasn't just something that happened in the past.". 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. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair on fire. "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. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. [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. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. 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. 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. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. 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. [5] However, he also warned the club of a build-up of litter beneath the stand because of a gap between the seats. "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. [10] The stand seats did not have risers; this had allowed a large accumulation of rubbish and paper waste in the cavity space under the stand, which had not been cleared for many months. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. It is a simple account laid out for all to see. 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. It made me realise life is too short and I'm a happier person for it.". [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. 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . 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. 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. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. 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. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. At the final home match against Barnsley at the end of April, Bradford City fans collected more than 8,000 in a bucket collection. "[33], Central to the test case were two letters sent to Bradford City's Club Secretary by the West Yorkshire Fire Brigade; the second letter dated 18 July 1984 specifically highlighted in full the improvements needed to be actioned at the ground as well as the fire risk at the main stand. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . 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. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. 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. All Rights Reserved. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. "I parked my van outside because I started making enough money painting as I was in construction. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. The inquiry into the disaster, chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell and known as the Popplewell Inquiry,[25] led to the introduction of new legislation to improve safety at the UK's football grounds. The game was irrelevant. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. "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.". 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'. 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.
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