One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. Bradford City stadium fire disaster remembered - BBC Sport Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. 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. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. 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. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. "I want the truth to be out, the myths to be broken, so that I can get on with my life rather than knowing this information and having to live with this information. "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. We use necessary cookies to make our site work. 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. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. 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. Bradford City stadium fire: The untold stories of the 1985 fire [49], Parrs Wood Press published Four Minutes to Hell: The Story of the Bradford City Fire (2005) by author Paul Firth;[50] the title refers to the estimated time it took for the stand to be completely ablaze from the first flames being spotted. The match between Bradford City and Lincoln City, the final game of that season, had started in a celebratory atmosphere with the home team receiving the Third Division championship trophy. "[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]. 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. [52], On 1 May 2010, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fire the football TV show Football Focus was hosted from Valley Parade by Dan Walker, the show included interviews with Terry Yorath and John Hendrie. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. [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. They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. BBC News - Bradford fire 'will live with me forever' Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. 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. 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, television commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand; in less than four minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. 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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. Bradford City Fire disaster: 36 years on the city's pioneering burns The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. 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'I have to tell you that the fire was so intense that identifying people is going to be the great problem we have to face.'. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. 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. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". [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. Bradford fire: The Valley Parade disaster 30 years on [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. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. For the 30th anniversary of the fire a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was recorded at Voltage Studios in Bradford. People were arriving in a daze outside Bradford police headquarters on Saturday evening and early yesterday. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. 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. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. Television cameras spotted the outbreak of fire in Valley Parade's main stand at 15:40 BST. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. We didn't know how serious it was.". [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken Daniel Taylor The policewoman assigned to the grieving Fletchers gets goosebumps when she looks back to 30 years ago. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. [3] It included a main stand which seated 5,300fans, and had room for a further 7,000 standing spectators in the paddock in front. [39], The club's chairman, Stafford Heginbotham, said: "It was to be our day". [10][16] More than 265 supporters were injured. [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. The stories of escapes are legion. 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. A capacity 6,000 crowd attended a multi-denominational memorial service, held on the pitch in the sunny shadow of the burnt out stand at Valley Parade in July 1985. Sir Oliver Popplewell, the High Court judge who led the Valley Parade inquiry in 1985: "The scene when I arrived was horrendous. [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. There were no fire extinguishers. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. "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. 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. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. Bradford fire: the horrors and the silence that had to be broken Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. The club's success had swollen the crowd to 10,000 and arguments will rage about fire precautions at the ground. The intensity of the blaze which spread 'quicker than people could walk' destroyed the main stand area, leaving a skeleton of burned seats, lamps and fences. I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. You could hardly breathe. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. 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. It's a nice little business and it's something positive that came out of a tragedy. [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. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out. [6] 1908 - Parker Building, New York City, January 10. 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.
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