R.I.P. 26 Years On And Still Chilling. Copyright IRN/ILR/Pennine Radio.
The Bradford City Fire Disaster occurred on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire consumed one side of the Valley Parade football stadium in Bradford, England.
The fire broke out during a football match between the home team (Bradford City), and Lincoln City, on the day that Bradford City were supposed to have celebrated their winning the Football League Third Division trophy. 56 people lost their lives.
After 40 minutes of the first half, the score remained 00, in what was described as a drab affair with neither team threatening to score. At 3:40 pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a fire a glowing light was noticed three rows from the back of block G.[15] It is believed the fire started when a spectator dropped either a match, cigarette or tobacco, which fell through holes in the stand to rubbish which had accumulated below. One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches below the floor boards.
Spectators initially felt their feet becoming warmer; one of them ran to the back of the stand for a fire extinguisher but found none. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher. However, his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. The call was timed at 3:43 pm. However, the fire escalated and flames became visible, and so police started to evacuate the stand. The blaze began to spread; the roof and wooden stands were on fire. One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. I've never seen anything like it. The smoke was choking. You could hardly breathe." One of the linesmen informed match referee Don Shaw, who stopped the game with three minutes remaining before half-time.
The wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire.[10] The material combined with a strong wind to spread the fire along the stand creating the impression of a fireball, setting fire to the entire stand. Burning timbers and molten materials fell from the roof onto the crowd and seating below, and black smoke enveloped a passageway behind the stand, where many spectators were trying to escape. It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.
There were no extinguishers in the stand's passageway for fear of vandalism, and one spectator ran to the club house to find one, but was overcome by smoke and others trying to escape. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Most of the exits at the back were either locked or shut, and there were no stewards present to open them, but seven were either forced or found open. Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside. Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. Otherwise I would not have been able to get out." At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.
People who had escaped the fire instead tried to assist their fellow supporters. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. 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 had to turn around.[10] Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand, ran on to the pitch to help evacuate people. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. Those who escaped were taken out of the ground and to neighbouring homes and a pub, where a television screened Grandstand, which had live pictures from the ground. Those who escaped queued for a telephone to ring their families.
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bradford city fc fire 1985by shane29759256,189 views
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