The Man burns on September 02, 2023. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats, covered by remnants of tarpaulin that had fallen from the roof. "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". Many were burnt to death at the turnstiles gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. 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. Although I was only 12 at the time, 11 May 1985 is a day. We wanted to record the trophy presentation. I ran to the stand and tried to help people escape. 'The smoke was very, very dense. It was unprecedented.".
The Bradford city stadium fire. 56 people died when a - reddit 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. '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.'. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. All Rights Reserved. Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. 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. 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. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. Below the seats were rows of litter which had piled up throughout the season, said witnesses.
Bradford City Stadium Fire: The Forgotten Fire Tragedy of 1985 that [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. 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. The scene in there was one of silence and shock. Ironically, off-duty firemen were at the ground selling raffle tickets for a charity football match which should have been held yesterday. "We wouldn't normally have covered that game - no question about it. Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". The inquiry had found that the club had been warned that the accumulation of rubbish beneath the stands was a fire risk.
The Bradford City Stadium Fire 1985 - The Football Inferno The stand itself was engulfed in seconds, almost as if petrol had been ignited throughout the block. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. 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. [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. "It is unbelievable how quickly the fire took hold. Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices 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. Fletcher has been the only survivor to publicly challenge the inquiry's findings. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. Burning Man.NYC. "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. [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. [4], Although there had been some changes to other parts of the ground, the main stand remained unaltered by 1985. More than 3,500 people were crammed into the main stand area and this prevented people from moving away from the blaze quickly. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. [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. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. Superintendent Barry Osborne, divisional commander for the football club area, who was injured in the fire said that many policemen cried when they saw how badly people had been burned. [citation needed] Mathew Wildman, aged 17 at the time of the fire, commented that "I must have had five different experiments carried out on me with all sorts of new techniques for skin grafts and I had potions injected into me that helped my face repair naturally over time. 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. 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. "Us players must have been in the tunnel for seconds - and I mean seconds.
Bradford City Stadium Fire - 36 years ago today | RedCafe.net The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. "That was the legacy of the tragedy. Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. In March 1985 the club's plans became more apparent when it took delivery of steel for a new roof. 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. Watch Missed Warnings on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire at 22:45 BST on Tuesday, 12 May. 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. Mike Harrison, the editor of the Bradford City Football Club fanzine The City Gent, was there on the day. "I parked my van outside because I started making enough money painting as I was in construction. 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. The blaze quickly engulfed the stand as Bradford played Lincoln City and claimed the lives of 59 people on May 11, 1985.
Bradford City stadium fire: Remembering the 56 who died at Valley - IBT There were queues of people outside houses, which obviously wouldn't happen nowadays. He later said: "I have never known anything like it, either before, or since. "We stayed in the pub for hours. "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. We sat in the main stand the week before, but we had decided to move on that day," he says. This day was for them. 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. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run".
Survival Guide 2022 When the game began there was no way out for them, except by going on to the pitch. I don't see that. There was hardly anything left of him.'. Now they will begin another inquiry, into the cause of the Bradford fire. However, there is a lot in this book that troubles me about the science, or lack of it, used in the testing of the investigators' hypothesis as to the source of the ignition. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". "[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 man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. [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. [11], The fire escalated very rapidly, and flames became visible; police started to evacuate the stand. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended.
Burning Man - Wikipedia The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. Like you, we're already preparing for Black Rock City to rise again. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. [10] One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. ", 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. 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. You could hardly breathe.
BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire More than 250 others were injured in one of the. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds. After Hillsborough, the Bradford City FC stadium fire was the second worst sporting tragedy in England, leaving 56 dead and at least 265 injured.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - HISTORY No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. [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. 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.. Following the hearing in 1986, a test case was brought against the club by David Britton, a police sergeant serving on the day, and by Susan Fletcher, who lost her husband John, 11-year-old son Andrew, John's brother Peter and his father Edmond in the fire. He is quoted as saying: "I don't believe the statement of retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer at all. "I feel such information should be made public and people should look at those facts, then make their mind up on those facts. Warnings had been issued over the ground's antiquated wooden structure, which had been condemned and was due to be pulled down and replaced with steel and concrete. By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. The game was irrelevant. Fletcher said that "The club at the time took no actual responsibility for its actions and nobody has ever really been held accountable for the level of negligence which took place. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. One, now re-situated to that end of the stand where the fire began, is a sculpture donated on the initial re-opening of Valley Parade in December 1986 by Sylvia Graucob, a then Jersey-based former West Yorkshire woman. The chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened.
1985 disaster in Valley Parade Stadium, Bradford, England. Recommended The untold stories of the 1985 fire The Documentary highlighted the 'poison pen letters' and graffiti targeted at the then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham over accusations that he was in some way personally responsible for the deaths of the 56 people who died at the fire.[54]. England won the re-match 64. [53], In 1986, a year after the disaster, Yorkshire Television aired a documentary presented by John Helm entitled Bradford City A Year of Healing. "[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. 05/12/15 AT 9:58 AM BST Crowds on the pitch at the Valley Parade stadium after a stand caught fire Getty Images Police have revealed the identity of the man who they believe was responsible. 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. "[16] At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. ", There has always been a close bond between the club and its supporters since the fire, he adds.