burning man bradford city stadium fire

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. [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. I asked the director to get the camera to go a little closer. Eighty names were unaccounted for and there were no positive indications about the cause of the fire. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and . Original television coverage of the fire, as caught by cameras covering the match. 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. 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. Fans in the next stand (the "Bradford End") pulled down the fence separating them from the pitch. Each year Lincoln send representatives to the annual memorial service in Bradford city centre and between 2007 and 2009, were managed by Bradford's captain that day, Peter Jackson. "Until I arrived home my mum and my brother had no idea whether I was alive or dead. [] I still have terrible memories of the day, but it is the humanity of those that helped us that I reflect on."[41]. 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. "The one thing I remember at the time is we were grateful that we got an answer quickly after the inquiry. I don't know where Falconer is getting this cock-and-bull story from the inaccuracies in this report [documentary] are dumbfounding. Representatives from the fire brigade were due to go to the club tomorrow to inspect it and see whether regulations were being observed. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. ", Hendrie: "We stayed in the pub for hours. On 23 February 1987, Sir Joseph Cantley found the club two thirds responsible and the county council (which by this time had been abolished) one third responsible. After 40 minutes of the first half, fans had begun to complain about the drab match and the 0-0 score. ", 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. This day was for them. Town began to paint two years ago, first of the old Bradford Park Avenue ground, before moving onto other stadiums. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. "It made me realise life is too short." The Bradford City disaster took place on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire occurred at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, England. 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. Owing to windy conditions, less than four minutes later the entire wooden stand was engulfed in smoke and fire. A minute later he saw a small plume of smoke so he poured his coffee on it and so did his son. Those are the words of David Pendleton, a survivor of the Bradford City fire disaster, which happened 30 years ago. 56 dead and hundreds more injured. There were no fire extinguishers. "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. "I parked my van outside because I started making enough money painting as I was in construction. The fire claimed young and old alike, with most fatalities occurring at the rear of the stand where people sought escape only to find turnstiles locked. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. The Popplewell Inquiry found that a discarded cigarette and an accumulation of litter beneath the stand were to blame. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. [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. They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. 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. "[28], West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council was found to have failed in its duty under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. 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 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. [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. 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. Spread by the wind, the wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. [2] By 1911, his work was completed. '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.'. [48] Profits from the play's run at The Edinburgh Fringe were donated to the Bradford Burns Unit. The government inquiry into the disaster concluded the fire spread "faster than a man could run". 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 was nearly double the season's average of 6,610 and included 3,000fans in the ground's main stand. [10][11], Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper published a souvenir issue for 11 May, entitled, "Spit and Polish for the Parade Ground". "That's when I thought 'this is time to get out of here'. People were wandering around outside the ground in disbelief, reminiscent of an air disaster, at what had happened the day before. ", Popplewell: "I'm sorry to spoil what is obviously a very good story, but I'm afraid it is nonsense for many reasons.". Videos, gifs, or aftermath photos of machinery, structures, or devices Only then do you realise the huge network of people the fire involved. 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. [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. We were sat in our football kit, we didn't know what to do. 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. There was some kind of disturbance near the edge of a block of seats in the G section of the main stand. No one gave it the attention it ought to have received.. .. All Rights Reserved. "We had already won the league, all the hard work had been done. As the blaze spread, the wooden stands and roofcovered with layers of highly flammable bituminous roofing feltquickly went ablaze. 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. 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. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights. "I know it's a clich to say that, but it's true.". We wanted to record the trophy presentation. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. It was unprecedented.". As a result, Bradford-born captain Peter Jackson was presented with the league trophy before the final game of the season with mid-table Lincoln City at Valley Parade on 11 May 1985. "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. So I threw myself over the wall and luckily someone dived in to catch me before I hit the floor.". "A disaster is not black and white - it is a mass of factors.". We couldn't breathe. Football architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to carry out the work. Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. Witnesses of the fire have come to terms with the tragedy in different ways. "Some of the local residents opened their houses so people could make phone calls. The only fire extinguishers in the ground were in the clubroom, which is also in the main stand. Someone came in and shouted: 'Get out, get out there's a fire'. [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. "It is the little things that show how much people are still involved the fire still has a big impact on people. However, the fire had consumed the stand entirely by that point and they were faced with huge flames and very dense smoke. Then flames licked the underside of the seats, which were a combination of wood and plastic. The stadium was known for its antiquated design and facilities, which included the wooden roof of the main stand. [16] Messages of condolence were also received from Helmut Kohl, Chedli Klibi and Felipe Gonzlez. While Valley Parade was re-developed, Bradford City played games at various neighbouring grounds: Elland Road, Leeds; Leeds Road, Huddersfield; and Odsal Stadium, Bradford. An inquiry launched in the aftermath of the disaster led to legislation to improve safety at football grounds.

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