"I looked up and saw the flames. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). 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. "[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. 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. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. [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. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. Part of the Appeal funds were raised by a recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone"[42] from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel by The Crowd (including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who had recorded the 1963 version that led to Liverpool adopting it as their motto and team song), which reached number one in the UK Singles chart. She was an. "[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. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. Wildman: "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. 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. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 1908 - Collinwood school fire, in Collinwood, Ohio (soon absorbed by Cleveland ), on March 4, killed 175. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. 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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. We didn't know how serious it was.". There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. So I decided to give it that next push. For the 30th anniversary of the fire a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was recorded at Voltage Studios in Bradford. 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. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. It's terrifying how quickly fire spreads in the wrong circumstances. The 4-alarm fire started in a one-story lumber storage building and spread to an adjacent building . 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. The main stand at Bradford was not surrounded by fencing, and therefore most of the spectators in it could escape onto the pitch if they had been penned in then the death toll would inevitably have been in the hundreds if not the thousands. 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. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. 56 people dead. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. It is a simple account laid out for all to see. The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. The Great Fire of London, 1212 | Sky HISTORY TV Channel "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.". [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. 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. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. 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. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. [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. 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. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. [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. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. The Bradford city stadium fire. 56 people died when a - reddit The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. Bradford City stadium fire: BBC documentary says Aussie man to blame There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. The smoke was choking. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Burning Man NYC The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. [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. 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. It spelt out 'thank you fans'. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 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. More than 3,500 people were crammed into the main stand area and this prevented people from moving away from the blaze quickly. 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. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. 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. "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. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.[10]. There is no evidence in the book, he is just pointing out there are some coincidences. The Bradford Burns Unit was set up by Professor David Sharpe after he received many of the victims following the fire. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. [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. "That was the legacy of the tragedy. Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. 'This was a dreadful afternoon. Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. "As well as those who lost their lives or were injured, there are the relatives and friends, the others who were at the game, and those who would normally have gone to the match but decided not to that day. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. 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." 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. 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. They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. 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. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. Warnings had been issued over the ground's antiquated wooden structure, which had been condemned and was due to be pulled down and replaced with steel and concrete. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. 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. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. "We stayed in the pub for hours. [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. "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. 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. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen.

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