burning man bradford city stadium fire

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. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. 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." I had no idea. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. A call was made on a police radio to the police operations room in Bradford and relayed to the fire brigade at 3.43 pm. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. There was a bit of paper on fire, but it was so small.". 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. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. Valley Parade in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was built in 1886 and was initially the home ground of Manningham Rugby Football Club. Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. 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. But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." [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. [1] When the association football club was formed, the ground was changed very little and had no covered accommodation. "The scene became progressively horrendous, grotesque, and I was having to describe things you couldn't possibly imagine.". We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. Only one person had been positively identified by police by early last night. The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . The Bradford Burns Unit was set up by Professor David Sharpe after he received many of the victims following the fire. 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. [19] One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. Then flames licked the underside of the seats, which were a combination of wood and plastic. "[11] Police Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the area, said many of his officers cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. People were clambering over the wall on to the ground with their clothes and hair on fire. "Then we ran out in our tracksuits each holding a massive card with a letter. Bradford, playing into a strong wind, were struggling to break down a Lincoln side already safe from relegation. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. The firemen who arrived there were met by a wall of flame and dense black smoke. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. 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. "Could any man really be as unlucky as Heginbotham had been?" [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. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. 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. "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. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". The game was irrelevant.". [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. Martin Fletcher was talking to BBC Look North. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. "I remember not being able to watch it, but we couldn't get out. Speculation an Australian man started the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 IT killed 56 people and destroyed an entire stadium. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. 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[16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. Since 1903, when the club was formed, Bradford City Association Football Club had played their home games at the ground. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. Some days I had two operations in a day. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. 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 game was irrelevant. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. It detailed the safety work which would be carried out at Valley Parade as a result of the club's promotion, admitting the ground was "inadequate in so many ways for modern requirements". Martin Fletcher, whose brother, father, grandfather and uncle all died in the fire: "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. 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. When Town reached the Midland Road side of the pitch, he was faced with horrific scenes of the injured being treated and comforted by ambulance crews, fans and players. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. Bradford City players line up to observe a minutes silence for the 25th anniversary of the 1985 Bradford stadium fire prior to the Coca Cola League. A giant Christian cross, made up of two large charred wooden members[44] that had once been part of the stand, was constructed in front of the middle of the stand and behind the pitchside speaker's platform. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. "[16] As spectators began to cascade over the wall separating the stand from the pitch, the linesman on that side of the pitch informed referee Norman Glover, who stopped the game with three minutes remaining before half-time. There were no fire extinguishers. [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. "[37], Fletcher subsequently published a book in 2015, Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire which revealed a history of fires at businesses owned by the Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. 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. [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. 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 [56], On 17 April 2015, retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer, in a report by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, said the police were aware of an Australian man who admitted to starting the fire. The Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands bore witness to the worst fire disaster in the history of English football. I don't see that. The stand slopes downwards from the South Parade. 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. ", Hendrie: "We stayed in the pub for hours. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. Most of the fans who took this escape route were killed or seriously injured. It transpired that the wooden stand had already been condemned and was set to be demolished just two days after the tragedy. Fletcher, who was 12 at the time of the fire, does not make any direct allegations but he does believe Heginbotham's history with fires resulting in payouts of around 27m in today's terms warrants further investigation. People had walked through turnstiles and along a wooden corridor before descending the steps into their seats. Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. It was unprecedented.". 2022 DECOMPRESSION WAS DREAMY . The blaze, at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, killed 87 people, the . The Bradford City stadium fire was the worst fire disaster in the history of football.. I ran to the stand and tried to help people escape. "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. It is not thought that there was any crowd trouble in this section but one theory the police are investigating is that a flare or smoke-bomb was thrown or was accidentally dropped. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. One family was in tears, the mother shaking. 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. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. It was an awful thing to watch.". He had to undergo counselling and was unable to go to another game for several years. 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. "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. 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. "I saw people die in the stand - but it was only until then that I realised the scale of it.". 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. "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. The fire brigade arrived at the ground four minutes after they were initially alerted. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. "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. Those who rescued people were themselves burned in the process. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. We couldn't breathe. '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.'. And then suddenly, in the space of 120-odd seconds, it really kicked in. "How quickly the fire spread is difficult to convey to people.". Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. For the 30th anniversary of the fire a new version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" was recorded at Voltage Studios in Bradford. 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. [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. "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.". 56 dead and hundreds more injured. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. 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. 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. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . "We couldn't help because there were so many people streaming towards us, to our side of the pitch, to get away from the heat. [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. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. [29] The Health and Safety Executive who were also part of the legal action were found to be non-liable. 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. He was actually one of the detectives involved in one of the gravest miscarriages of justices in the country, the murder of Carol Wilkinson in Bradford, where someone was locked up for 20 years for a murder he didn't commit."[60]. 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 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. 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. [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. All you could hear was sirens and screams. But all the people being treated, we formed a family, a bond.". The Man burns on September 02, 2023. So I decided to give it that next push. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. Previous warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter in the cavity below the seats in the stand. We had not been told anything.". [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. By the time the fire brigade arrived they were faced with huge flames and dense smoke. [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.

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