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The playing area and stands were very basic but the ground had enough room for 18,000spectators. [17], One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches (230mm) below the floor boards. Christopher Hammond, who was 12 on the day, said on the 20th anniversary of the fire: "As a 12-year-old, it was easy to move on I didn't realise how serious it was until I looked at the press coverage over the next few days. "It wasn't covering anything up, it wasn't avoiding the truth of what happened, everyone knows what happened, everyone knows it shouldn't have happened. It remains to be seen whether a new investigation will take place. "The fire still has a big impact on people," Parker says. Nigel Adams who worked for 12 years as a fire investigator with a British fire service was spurred on by the book to join the call for a fresh inquiry, stating that Fletcher's book was "one of the best accounts of a fire, as seen from a victim's point of view, and as a piece of investigative writing, I have ever read". Your brain tells you, you are not going anywhere. Mr Delahunte was screaming into his microphone describing the scene until it became impossible to continue broadcasting. 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. The stand had been officially condemned and was due to be replaced with a steel structure after the season ended. "We stayed in the pub for hours. "If we were fed a lie about it being an accident, then we will be educated. They wouldn't let us because then people would get in the way of fire engines, ambulances and police trying to get in. The Bradford way was keep it to ourselves - it worked collectively that we did that. [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. Samuel Firth, a founder of the supporters' club, was the oldest victim at 86; four 11-year-old boys were the youngest. > Contacts> Join us> Circulars> Training courses> Sign up to Rollcall. There is a twin memorial sculpture, unveiled on 11 May 1986, which has the names of the dead inscribed on it. 56 dead and hundreds more injured. "The letters that went to the club, the council's failings, the police's failings, even as supporters we allowed a culture where the gates were locked. I saw a group of people around the smoke laughing. They were at fault, but the fault was that no-one in authority seems ever to have properly appreciated the real gravity of this fire hazard and consequently no-one gave it the attention it certainly ought to have received. She was hysterical and trying to find her three children. Lincoln City chairman Bob Dorrian, centre, is joined by Former Imps Players Association chairman Trevor Swinburne, left, and chairman of the Red Imps. ", "There was a throw-in in front of the stand where the fire started - something caught my eye. It was an awful thing to watch.". [10] The call was timed at 3:43pm. Burning Man.NYC. But many, including Harrison, believe it could unnecessarily reopen wounds if it does happen. "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. Below the seats were rows of litter which had piled up throughout the season, said witnesses. 48,785 Location Lake Jonathan Creek The footage never gets any less shocking. Coach Terry Yorath described the events as "the worst day in my life. They were immediately promoted back to the Football League in 1988, and survived for 23 years before being relegated again in 2011. 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. We had to run up the stairs, through the office doors and out on to the street. He saw smoke coming from a small area of the stand and thought that someone had let off a flare. All you could hear was sirens and screams. We went over to the policeman stood at the corner flag and asked if it was being sorted out, and he said it was under control," Harrison says. Just look at how many people were standing around just 50-60 meters away from the blazing inferno. Bradford City were supposed to be celebrating on 11 May 1985. Mr Antony Burrows said: 'One man was stood near me with his hair on fire. But I've never spoken to anyone who thought the fire wasn't anything other than a tragic accident. ", "If the inquiry is opened again, we will await to see what evidence there is to prove is wasn't an accident," he says. [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. All that was left of the main stand were rows of bare steel and stone, with blackened timbers hanging from the few remaining roof supports. The sling is now used internationally in the treatment of burns. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Stadium disasters have blighted the world of sport throughout modern history. Bradford city council officials, off-duty policemen and guests from Bradford 's twin town, Munchengladbach, were there to celebrate. The fire started five minutes before half-time during the match on 11 May between Bradford and Lincoln City. 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. Keep an eye out as you ride your bike through the city you will see a new solar-powered Man, fewer gas and . 'It is the worst day in my life. "A lot of investigative work had been done by the police when I got there. [47] Scriptwriters of the play spent hours with the survivors and victims families. Radiated heat from the burning roof of the stand set fire to the clothing of fans trapped underneath. 24 Bradford City A.F.C. [51] Another book; 56: The Story of the Bradford Fire (2015) was written by Martin Fletcher to discuss how the disaster was caused, and follows his loss of his father, brother, uncle and grandfather. However, when Bradford City won promotion to the highest level of English football, Division One, in 1908, club officials sanctioned an upgrade programme. [22], Immediately after the fire, Sharpe planned and treated the injuries of over 200 individuals, with many experimental treatments being used. 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. They were donated by Bradford's twin city of Hamm, Germany, and are situated in front of Bradford City Hall in both locations. "For the first minute people were laughing and joking, it wasn't anything serious. All existing grandstands deemed fire risks were faced with immediate closure. 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. When Town reached the Midland Road side of the pitch, he was faced with horrific scenes of the injured being treated and comforted by ambulance crews, fans and players. He was completely on fire and it looked as though he simply did not know what had happened to him.'. His face was burned and his car, which he had parked outside the ground, was destroyed. I rolled over on my head, jumped up and ran off.". [46], In 2014, the theatre company Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) premiered their heartfelt tribute to the 56 people who died at the fire. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. "I got stuck against the wall with the weight of people behind me trying to get over. 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. [2] The main stand was described as a "mammoth structure", but was unusual for its time because of its place on the side of a hill. Spreading with almost unbelievable speed, a small fire under a wooden. Police removed the last body from the ground at 4 am yesterday, working under arc lights. Like all areas of forensic investigations, it has come on leaps and bounds. The Bradford Disaster Appeal fund, set up within 48hours of the disaster, eventually raised over 3.5million (11.3million today). ", IBT UK Morning Brief - Let the best of International News come to you. Earlier this year, Town gave up working in construction to pursue painting full-time through his business Stadium Portraits. [12] The work was expected to cost 400,000 (1.3million today). 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. 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. The Popplewell Inquiry found that the club had been warned about the fire risk that the rubbish accumulating under the stand had posed. They stood outside the headquarters, staring at nothing in particular. "Me and my dad eventually got out safely but it was a bit of a struggle at one point because the walls getting down to the pitch level were quite high I didn't get a growth spurt until I was 16 or 17.". Called 'The 56' the play dramatises actual accounts of the Bradford City Fire with the purpose of the play showing how in times of adversity, the Football Club and the local community came together. Today marks the 35th anniversary of one of the worst disasters in the history of British football. He photographed the blaze from start to finish and the police will use this as evidence when an inquest is held. He went on to state: "In 1985 fire investigation in Britain was in its infancy and some would say at that time most fire investigators were not much more than dust-kickers. He asks the reader to make their mind up about whether these fires were a coincidence or not.". Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. My hands suffered the most because they were exposed the most. 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. Somebody looked round and grabbed me by the hood of my coat to pull me over. He agreed that the inquiry into Bradford, led by the judge Oliver Popplewell, was inadequate and that there are many unanswered questions. The fire at a Brooklyn lumber storage building sent plumes of smoke over Williamsburg on Tuesday. It was sort of the good thing to come out of the nightmare," says Simon Parker, a football reporter for the Telegraph and Argus. "[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. 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. [4] Football ground writer Simon Inglis had described the view from the stand as "like watching football from the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel" because of its antiquated supports and struts. 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. 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'. It wasn't just something that happened in the past.". "[55], Adams also went on to state that "I have read in some newspapers that he is being berated for his campaign to have a new inquiry. ', Sports reporters covering the game also spoke of the disaster. Disaster struck at 3.43 pm. The horrific scenes of people burning alive seemed to live on in an eerie silence as daylight broke over the remains of Bradford City Football Club's ground yesterday. Some of the dead were found at the bottom of these steps. Luckily, his father arrived home shortly after he did, but 30 years on, he still remembers the young woman who served him a Mars Bar and his father a coffee, who never made it out of the stadium. The fire happened during a football match. 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on February 15, killed 250. [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. "As a 15-year-old, you don't really know how much of an impact an event like that will have on your life," Town says. At the time, however, Harrison says, Bradford just wanted to move on. Of the 56people who died in the fire,[2] 54 were Bradford supporters and two supported Lincoln. [8], The Bradford City matchday squad of players and staff consisted of Terry Yorath, Trevor Cherry, Chris Withe, Don Goodman, Eric McManus, Tony Clegg, John Hawley, Dave Evans, Bryan Edwards, John Hendrie, Mark Ellis, Stuart McCall, Peter Jackson, Bobby Campbell, Martin Singleton and Greg Abbott. The smoke was choking. It was a gruesome sight to see bodies still sitting upright in their seats, covered in tarpaulin. [45] PCs Peter Donald Barrett and David Charles Midgley, along with spectators Michael William Bland and Timothy Peter Leigh received the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. 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. Surviving supporters, former Bradford players, the sole television commentator at the stadium and the judge who led the government inquiry tell the BBC about that fateful afternoon and its aftermath. " Burning Man," " Burning Man Project," " Black Rock City ", and .