By the time they got back, the whole thing had taken off. It was the brainchild of Bradford City fan Lloyd Spencer with all profits going to the Bradford Royal Infirmary Burns Unit.[43]. The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in UK stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. The match, Bradford against Lincoln, was to have been a joyous climax to the club winning the Third Division championship and being promoted to the Second Division. We accepted it was an accident, nobody wanted to blame the club because it was the club we wanted to support. We were given the trophy before the game in front of the supporters and had to do a lap of honour. When cross examined by QC Robert Smith, then Chairman Stafford Heginbotham said he knew about the fire risk at the ground. Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. [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. Heginbotham died in 1995, aged 61, and was never prosecuted for the stadium fire, despite the coroner later saying he had given serious consideration to bringing a charge of manslaughter as the club had failed to act on three separate warnings about a potential fire risk. "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. In the last few years, the BCFC kit-man John Duckworth did a sponsored 73-mile walk between Lincoln's Sincil Bank stadium and Valley Parade, joined by Bradford fans along the way. By this date the appeal fund set up for survivors had paid out more than 4m with further payouts expected as the effects of physical and mental injury were determined. 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. Yet in 2015, allegations surfaced which shifted the focus to the club's then chairman, Stafford Heginbotham. Then flames licked the underside of the seats, which were a combination of wood and plastic. Eight fires in the 18 years before the Bradford City fire were identified, many catastrophic and leading to large insurance payouts. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. Fifty-six people died. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. Former Bradford midfielder John Hendrie, who was playing in the match: "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). We wanted to record the trophy presentation. We didn't know how serious it was.". [11], The disaster also had a long-lasting effect on the fans. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". Police had an official photographer at the game, watching for crowd disturbance. On the recording are Dene Michael (Black Lace), The Chuckle Brothers, Clive Jackson of Dr & The Medics, Owen Paul, Billy Pearce, Billy Shears, Flint Bedrock, Danny Tetley and Rick Wild of The Overlanders. The fact is that no one person was concerned with the safety of the premises. At Valley Parade there are now two memorials. Saturday began for the fans in a carnival atmosphere at Bradford 's Valley Parade ground a short walk from the city centre. 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. This included the banning of new wooden grandstands at all sports venues in the UK. Christmas Day is supposed to be happy and pleasant, a time to gather with loved ones for a chill and relaxing celebration. Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. What Is Burning Man? A new book, written by Valley Parade survivor Martin Fletcher, claims then-Bradford City chairman Stafford Heginbotham had previously netted millions of pounds from insurance payouts after at least eight previous fires at businesses he was associated with. Part of the service was also held in Urdu and Punjabi as a sign of appreciation to the local ethnically Asian Subcontinental community in Manningham, Bradford and around Valley Parade who had opened their homes to Bradford City supporters to provide assistance in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. People were falling on to each other and screaming. As we move ahead on the 2030 Sustainability Roadmap, sustainability projects are taking center stage. 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. "I was dragged on to the pitch and into a line of people, who couldn't do much for themselves and were lying there. "I've always loved art but I owned businesses in construction so I've never had the time or a chance to follow it up," he says. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. "[23], On the 25th anniversary of the fire, the University of Bradford established the United Kingdom's largest academic research centre in skin sciences as an extension to its plastic surgery and burns research unit.[24]. 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. I was there in hospital for eight weeks - it felt like a lifetime. Some repair work was carried out, but in July 1984 the club was warned again, this time by a county council engineer, because of the club's plans to claim for ground improvements from the Football Trust. [15], At 3:44pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a firea glowing lightwas noticed three rows from the back of block G,[10][16] as reported by television commentator John Helm. "It is hard to imagine how Martin and his mother have managed to cope over the last 30 years and we have always respected him," Harrison says. There were no fire extinguishers. And the black and twisted skeleton of the burnt stand stood out in the night. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. Other parents whose children had not arrived home on Saturday called at the police station or sat in cars outside, waiting for news. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. In those days there was a lot of hooliganism and violence, so my initial thought was: 'I hope it has not kicked off - that's the last thing we need'. Soon they were all running for their lives. 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. [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. [57] Following the 30th anniversary of the fire, a number of news organisations named this man as Eric Bennett who was visiting his nephew in Bradford from Australia and attended the game on the day. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. The team was presented with the Division Three championship trophy - their first trophy in 56 years - in front of 11,000 jubilant fans before the start of their match against Lincoln City. It's terrifying how quickly fire spreads in the wrong circumstances. Our world has a varied history full of terrible tragedies, bizarre tales, unexplained events, and extravagant people. The whole fire seemed to erupt in seconds,' he said. Helm: "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. [10] The stand seats did not have risers; this had allowed a large accumulation of rubbish and paper waste in the cavity space under the stand, which had not been cleared for many months. [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. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. The fire brigade said that when heat builds up so quickly it can cause flames to move much quicker than people can walk. Criticising Bradford City during the case, Mr. Michael Ogden QC, highlighted that the Club 'gave no or very little thought to fire precautions', despite repeated warnings. "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. ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. The man we see at 7:50 walking out onto the pitch on fire was a retired mill worker. Bradford, playing into a strong wind, were struggling to break down a Lincoln side already safe from relegation. A bid of 350 has been made for the original painting and Town will sell 56 prints in memorial of those who lost their lives, with the aim of raising 3,000 for the Bradford Burns Unit. Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. It took the firemen four minutes to arrive at the ground but the speed of the fire was such that the blaze also took only four minutes to grip the entire stand. Copyright , Fire Brigades Union, 2023. I looked down and I saw my hands melting. 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. The 4-alarm fire started in a one-story lumber storage building and spread to an adjacent building . Pendleton: "One of my most haunting images was being on the bus home after dark and going past Valley Parade. 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. "[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. The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. Funnily enough I was thinking 'I'm going to miss the second half at this rate'. [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. 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'. The man in charge of investigating the fire, Detective Superintendent Kevin Cooper was at the game. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. "[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'.
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