burning man bradford city stadium fire

Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. ", Hendrie: "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. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. People pushed him to the ground and tried to smother the flames. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. You could hardly breathe. [8][10] Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside, which again helped prevent further deaths. 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. As he scaled the brick perimeter wall at the front, his father stayed behind to help others escape. 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. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. More than 250 others were injured in one of the biggest disasters at a British football ground. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. A new book, written by Valley Parade survivor Martin Fletcher, claims then-Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham had previously netted millions of pounds from insurance payouts after at least eight previous fires at businesses he was associated with. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. One elderly man started to walk across the pitch with his clothes and face ablaze. There were no fire extinguishers. As a result, Bradford-born captain Peter Jackson was presented with the league trophy before the final game of the season with mid-table Lincoln City at Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . Thirty years on, the majority of survivors still find it too difficult to talk about what happened at the Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. 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. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. 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. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. [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. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. "All you could see was black cloud. The match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. The fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. There were queues of people outside houses, which obviously wouldn't happen nowadays. Forty-two minutes into the first half of the game, he looked to his left to see smoke and flames rising from the old wooden seats. That duty was not a duty to the Club but a duty to the spectators and other persons in the stand. [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. One woman was seen running around the ground with no skin on her arms and face. "We couldn't run back down the tunnel. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. The plastic surgeon who treated the injuries of over 200, Professor David Sharpe, went on to set up a world-renowned burns research facility at the University of Bradford. Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. It was unprecedented.". Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. 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 Club coach Terry Yorath incurred minor injuries while taking part in the rescue. The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. 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 Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. [8][9] In the crowd were local dignitaries and guests from three of Bradford's twin townsVerviers in Belgium, and Mnchengladbach and Hamm in West Germany. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. 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. Edited by BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. 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. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices There were no extinguishers in the stand's passageway for fear of vandalism, and one spectator ran to the clubhouse to find one but was overcome by smoke and impeded by others trying to escape. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. 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. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. The match, Bradford against Lincoln, was to have been a joyous climax to the club winning the Third Division championship and being promoted to the Second Division. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. The team's coach, Mr Terry Yorath, ran on to the pitch to try to help people away from the stand. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. Although there was no perimeter fencing, such as led to the devastating crush at Hillsborough, locked turnstiles meant that many fans who tried to escape by that means were killed or seriously injured. "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. Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. Bradford City Stadium Fire 56 Dead & 100's Injured The Bradford City stadium fire was a stadium disaster that occurred during an English League Third Division fixture between Bradford City and Lincoln City on Saturday, 11 May 1985, killing 56 and injuring at least 265. Tarpaulin fell on them and stuck to their clothes and then ignited. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. 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. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. Valley Parade during the early 1990s, after it had been redeveloped following the fire. 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. "I was operated on every other day because I had so many burns and so many areas to work on. 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. 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. Fifty-six people died. As we move ahead on the 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, sustainability projects are taking center stage. [29] The Health and Safety Executive who were also part of the legal action were found to be non-liable. "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. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. He lit a cigarette and when it was coming to an end he put it down on to the floorboard and tried to put his foot on it to put it out. The game was irrelevant.". Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. Wealso use analytics cookies that don't track usersto help us improve it. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:41. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. [11], The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. Loading. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. Bradford fan David Pendleton, then aged 21 and stood in the main stand: "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. A bid of 350 has been made for the original painting and Town will sell 56 prints in memorial of those who lost their lives, with the aim of raising 3,000 for the Bradford Burns Unit. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. The fire happened during a football match. 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. [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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. Speculation an Australian man started the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 IT killed 56 people and destroyed an entire stadium. 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. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. "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. ', 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. 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. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". 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. ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. [38], The tragedy received immense media attention and drew support from around the world, with those offering their sympathy including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. 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. When the game began there was no way out for them, except by going on to the pitch. A few minutes later, he felt a thump on his back from his father, who told him to run. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. Burning timber and molten material began to fall onto the seating below and black smoke enveloped the passageway behind, where fans were trying to escape. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. The timber construction of St. Andrew's Stand, Main Stand and the roof of its popular Railway End terrace were immediately condemned as fire hazards, which saw seating capacity briefly cut to nil. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" The blame was through neglect, they didn't have the money to maintain the stand. The 51 other bodies of children, women and men were so badly burned that identification will take many days. "[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'. The game was irrelevant. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun.