The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. The Man burns on September 02, 2023. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. "[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. The Bradford city stadium fire. 56 people died when a - reddit [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 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. The entrances to the stand were all at the rear and were higher than the rest of the ground. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. Soon they were all running for their lives. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. It was later established that the blaze was caused by a fan who went to put his cigarette out but dropped it between the floorboards onto a pile of rubbish that had been building up below. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . We had not been told anything.". [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. 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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. Bradford City stadium fire disaster remembered - BBC Sport I had to put my jumper over his hair to put the blaze out. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985. "It wasn't covering anything up, it wasn't avoiding the truth of what happened, everyone knows what happened, everyone knows it shouldn't have happened. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. There were queues of people outside houses, which obviously wouldn't happen nowadays. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. 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. [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. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.[10]. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. Valley Parade in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was built in 1886 and was initially the home ground of Manningham Rugby Football Club. The fire brigade arrived at the ground four minutes after they were initially alerted. 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. Warning: Some readers may find parts of this content distressing. "We stayed in the pub for hours. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. [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. You could hardly breathe. It made me realise life is too short and I'm a happier person for it.". It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. I hope you enjoy some of the fascinating stories we have here.#History #Disasters 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. The fire was described as the worst fire disaster in the history of British football, and the worst football related disaster since 66spectators died at Ibrox in 1971. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. 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. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. Now a new film claims an Australian was responsible for the worst . 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. However as the game against Lincoln progressed, a fire began just before half-time in the stand that ran alongside the pitch. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. The inquiry had found that the club had been warned that the accumulation of rubbish beneath the stands was a fire risk. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. At 3.40pm, five minutes before half-time, a glowing light was spotted three rows from the back of block G. "We were stood in line with the 18-yard, the penalty area, when we saw some smoke and a bit of fire diagonally from where we were. **The Bradford City Stadium Tragedy** - Firehouse It was later established that the blaze was caused by a fan who went to put his cigarette out but dropped it between the floorboards onto a . It seemed to put it out. There is no malicious vendetta, there is no over-exaggeration, there are no trumped-up facts. Bradford City stadium fire: Police identify man who 'dropped the He appealed to people to be patient while forensic experts identified bodies. According to ABC News, though, several hundred people in the Chinese city of Luoyang decided to cut loose on Christmas night 2000 by heading to a nightclub housed on the fourth floor of a multi-use industrial building.A fire broke out in the basement of the structure . People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. It slipped through a hole in the floorboard. The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. Bradford City stadium fire: Remembering the 56 who died at Valley - IBT It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. I had no idea. About 3,000 people were in Valley Parade's main stand, escaping by climbing over walls on to the pitch or through the usual exit gates. 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. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. "The letters that went to the club, the council's failings, the police's failings, even as supporters we allowed a culture where the gates were locked. At the time, however, Harrison says, Bradford just wanted to move on. Yet many of those with terrible memories of the tragedy also take heart in the compassion born out of the devastation. Surviving supporters, former Bradford players, the sole television commentator at the stadium and the judge who led the government inquiry tell the BBC about that fateful afternoon and its aftermath. Within 48 hours of the disaster, the Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund had been set up and would eventually raise over 3.5m ($5.4m). Hendrie: "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. 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.. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 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. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. This day was for them. At the final home match against Barnsley at the end of April, Bradford City fans collected more than 8,000 in a bucket collection. 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. [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. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. [10][16] Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. 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. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. Parents and children were laughing and joking with the police as the preliminaries to the game began. Read about our approach to external linking. It was an awful thing to watch.". 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. However, as there was no real precedent, most Bradfordians accepted that the fire was a terrible piece of misfortune. England won the re-match 64. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. The Bradford Burns Unit was set up by Professor David Sharpe after he received many of the victims following the fire. At the time of the disaster, many stadiums had perimeter fencing between the stands and the pitch to prevent incidents of football hooliganism particularly pitch invasions which were rife during the 1980s. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. On Saturday 11 May 2002, the 17th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial with the names of those who lost their lives was dedicated at the new entrance to the redeveloped Sunwin stand. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. [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. 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. 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire. It is repeated across the country on BBC Two at 23:20 BST on Wednesday, 13 May. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. They were not able to use water on the stand immediately because this would have hampered attempts to rescue people being dragged by the police and friends from the stand. "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. 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. All that was left of. 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. List of building or structure fires - Wikipedia 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. 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. 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. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night of Burning Man, which is the Saturday evening before Labor Day. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. Bradford City continues to support the burns unit at the University of Bradford as its official charity. Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. 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. Hillsborough looms the largest in our collective consciousness, but there were also the many deaths that occurred at Heysel Stadium in 1985, as well as the Bradford City stadium fire that same year. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. [45] In total, 28 police officers and 22 supporters, who were publicly documented as having saved at least one life, later received police commendations or bravery awards. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings.