But looking back and seeing how much it really affected my dad makes me realise what we went through." It is a simple account laid out for all to see. Smoke was seen coming from the third row in the section but people are apparently used to seeing smoke flares on the Bradford ground. Bradford council introduced its emergency plans procedure yesterday to give aid to many families affected by the disaster. Listen to Valley Parade: Bradford City Fire Remembered on BBC Radio Leeds (18:00 BST) and BBC Radio 5 live (21:00 BST). The wooden roof that burned was scheduled to be replaced by a steel roof later that same . Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. 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. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. He was helped out of the stand by other fans and spent a period of time in hospital. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Revealed: former Bradford chairman linked to at least eight fires before Valley Parade disaster, Martin Fletcher: Maybe the reason I am here is to finally reveal the truth, TheStory of the Bradford Fire: could any man really be as unlucky as Stafford Heginbotham?. 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 match was recorded by Yorkshire Television for their regional edition of the ITV Sunday afternoon football show The Big Match. 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. 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. Last updated on 10 May 201510 May 2015.From the section Football, "People didn't die because of fires at football grounds. Steel was to be installed in the roof,[8] and the wooden terracing was to be replaced with concrete. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). What Is Burning Man? 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 chairman of the football club, Mr Stafford Heginbotham, was near to tears as he explained what had happened. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. More than 250 others were injured in one of the. 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. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. Those with longer memories will also think of the Ibrox disaster of . I remember trying to make sense of what was going on. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher, but his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. [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. 1908 - Rhoads Opera House fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania, killed 170. '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.'. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. 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. 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 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. Pendleton: "I walked past a public telephone outside the ground and there were queues of people waiting to ring home to say: 'I'm OK'. 'They did not have a chance. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. More than 200 people were taken to hospital, many with terrible injuries. He started to walk home, unsure of what had happened to his father. he asks. ", On 26 January 2016, the IPCC declined calls for an investigation and published its full response online. 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. [30], The outcome of the test case resulted in over 154 claims being addressed (110 civilians and 44 police officers)[31] by the injured or bereaved. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. [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. [14] It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.[11]. 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. "I was burnt from top to bottom, on and off. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. I'd seen the film on the Saturday but the bleakness of the stadium burnt out, and the gloom that afflicted everybody, was dreadful. 56 people dead. [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. It was clear from what the Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire, Mr Graham Karran, said yesterday that the ground was far from safe. So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.". "[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. "[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. The fire happened during a football match. The match between Bradford City and Lincoln City, the final game of that season, had started in a celebratory atmosphere with the home team receiving the Third Division championship trophy. 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. We went there to win the last game in front of a home crowd. His most recent painting is a powerful image; two fans in Bradford and Lincoln City kits, surrounded by 54 other figures. A Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund raised 3.5m for the victims and their families. 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. 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. The extinguishers were put there so that they would be out of the way of fans who could use them as missiles, which apparently had happened previously. Loading. 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. Most Bradfordians have accepted the fire was a terrible misfortune. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. A fire at a third division match between Bradford City and Lincoln City killed 56, including 11 children, and injured hundreds more. The next day work began on clearing the burnt out shell of the stand, and Justice Popplewell released his findings into the disaster. Cigarette smoking was also banned at all grounds with wooden stands. 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. No fire extinguishers had been installed over fears of vandalism and less than four minutes after the fire was reported, the fire had engulfed the whole stand. As many supporters still required rescue from the stand, they were unable to immediately start fighting the source of the fire. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. The 1984-85 season had been one of the most successful in Bradford City's 82-year history. Fifty people die in a fire in the grandstand at a soccer stadium in Bradford, England, on May 11, 1985. 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].