", "If the inquiry is opened again, we will await to see what evidence there is to prove is wasn't an accident," he says. It was during this treatment that Sharpe began to develop the Bradford Sling,[21] which applies even pressure across sensitive areas. [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 game was irrelevant.". It is a simple account laid out for all to see. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. It wasn't just something that happened in the past.". [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. But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." 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. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. 'They did not have a chance. 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. 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. > 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. 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. Stories From 11 May. [11], The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. 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. Once we went out it was mayhem, manic, chaotic. [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. Police worked until 4am the next morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies. Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. The smoke was choking. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. It was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. We had not been told anything.". Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. The fire destroyed the main stand completely and left only burned seats, lamps and metal fences remaining. 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. The worst fire disaster in English football history played out on live television on May 11, after Valley Parade's main stand caught fire during a match between Bradford City and Lincoln City on . Led by former England international Trevor Cherry, the Bantams won only their third divisional title and earned a return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1937. It wasn't until later on when assistant manager Terry Yorath came in and said: 'It's not good.'". The game was goalless after 40 minutes when play was stopped. It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. The main stand at Valley Parade burned down after what was thought to be a dropped cigarette led to flames which engulfed the entire wooden structure. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. One man in tears said: 'He looked as if he was just going for a stroll. "All I could see was eerie white lights that the fire brigade had set up and the smoke still in the sky. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. "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 Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). Pendleton: "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. "But the feeling here is that it is hard to believe that someone would purposefully start a fire. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. ", ITV football commentator John Helm, who provided live commentary of the unfolding disaster across the nation: "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. There were no fire extinguishers. "[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'. "It's therapeutic and I've met so many people through doing this." So I decided to give it that next push. [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. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. 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. 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. Within a few hours of the blaze starting, it was established that 56 people had been killed, many as a result of smoke inhalation, although some of them had survived until reaching hospital.[11]. 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. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. 'I think that is unlikely,' he said. I had no idea. An ancient wooden spectator stand and a dropped cigarette - the ingredients for one of Britain's deadliest soccer tragedies. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. Lincoln City suffered two successive relegations, first to the Fourth Division in 1986, and again in 1987, becoming the first team to be automatically relegated from the Football League itself. Bits of my arms, bits of my legs, part of my face, part of my scalp. Together, flanked by undocumented supporters, they managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand. Some days I had two operations in a day. Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. The stories of escapes are legion. Burning Man.NYC. "The one thing I remember at the time is we were grateful that we got an answer quickly after the inquiry. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. 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. This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 13:41. The book also raises concerns about the speed of the inquiry and the fact that it commenced a few weeks after the fire and lasted for only a few days, whereas other inquiries into similar incidents, pre and post the Bradford fire, have taken years to come to fruition and months to be heard. 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. 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. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. "[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. 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. The stand had already been condemned, and the demolition teams were due to start work two days later. "Several minutes before half-time I saw there was a wee bit of bother. The other, situated by the main entrance, was donated by the club after its 7.5million (13million today) rebuilding of the original main stand in 2002. The Man burns on September 02, 2023. 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. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. 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. Today, locals continue to raise money for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit in memory of the victims of the fire. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". Mr Tony Delahunte, who was presenting a programme from the ground for Pennine Radio, said 'The fire seemed to me to start with a smoke bomb. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. Edited by BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko. 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. "That was the moment that I realised not everybody was going to get out. 05/10/15 AT 12:00 PM BST Crowds on the pitch at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium after the stand caught fire Getty Images Fifty-six people were killed, 265 were injured and thousands. Everybody in the city was devastated, but there was an amazing number of volunteers. Pendleton: "Many people still don't want to talk about the disaster. Twenty nine years ago on this date, 56 people tragically died when a fire erupted at Bradford City's Valley Parade ground The day was supposed to be one of celebration for Bradford who had just won the Third Division trophy. 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. [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. The smoke was choking. [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. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. Then the flames and smoke were all over the place.'. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. Most recognizably, tens of thousands of Burners gather annually to build Black Rock City, a participative temporary metropolis . Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. 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.