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Bradford City fire 11/05/85


Barry Sheene

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Remembering the 54 football supporters who went to the Bradford City v Lincoln City match and never came home on this day 36 years ago.

Also remembering a 15 year old Leeds United fan Ian Hambridge who went to St Andrews and was killed by a wall when trouble started.

A terrible day for football.

 

 

 

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Just seen that a couple of Lincoln fans were killed as well.

As others have said, saw it live on Grandstand (just like the Hillsborough game).

Can't imagine they would do that nowadays, as they would cease; as soon as it becomes apparent what is going on.

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Terry Yorath says he had PTSD after being there that day.

An awful situation. Wooden seats in a wooden-framed stand with a build-up of litter beneath the rows, and a bitumen-clad roof above it.  Smoking on the terraces. Took 4 minutes for the entire stand to be ablaze.

I can't remember watching it live at the time, but it was one of the blazes we examined when I was doing a course as a fire marshal once. Absolute accident waiting to happen (leaving aside the arson rumour). 

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6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

Terry Yorath says he had PTSD after being there that day.

An awful situation. Wooden seats in a wooden-framed stand with a build-up of litter beneath the rows, and a bitumen-clad roof above it.  Smoking on the terraces. Took 4 minutes for the entire stand to be ablaze.

I can't remember watching it live at the time, but it was one of the blazes we examined when I was doing a course as a fire marshal once. Absolute accident waiting to happen (leaving aside the arson rumour). 

To be pedantic, Asphalt roofs are actually quite fire resistant. Bitumen itself has a very high flash and ignition point compared to other oil products

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16 minutes ago, Fjmcity said:

To be pedantic, Asphalt roofs are actually quite fire resistant. Bitumen itself has a very high flash and ignition point compared to other oil products

 

It was bitumen covered felt with wooden rafters. The fire was found to start and spread among the rubbish below the seating, but it was fierce enough to flash over once it had reached and ignited the roofing.  The particular construction used as Valley Parade was identified to us as part of the problem by our instructor, who was a former London fire station commander.

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24 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

It was bitumen covered felt with wooden rafters. The fire was found to start and spread among the rubbish below the seating, but it was fierce enough to flash over once it had reached and ignited the roofing.  The particular construction used as Valley Parade was identified to us as part of the problem by our instructor, who was a former London fire station commander.

But the bitumen covered roof was not an increased source of ignition as you made it sound that it was

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2 minutes ago, Fjmcity said:

But the bitumen covered roof was not an increased source of ignition as you made it sound that it was

 

Not my intention. And I'm sure you know more about the subject than me. I went on a two-day course years ago. Other than that, I know bollox all about bitumen roofing!

Anyway, the point is the stadium's design was considered a fire hazard and this had been pointed out to the club multiple times.  As well as football ground regulations, I think the fire led to a tightening of H&S law generally. 

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49 minutes ago, Taunton_BCFC said:

And as every year, not a mention on main stream news and about 2 mins on ssn :( would be minute silence at tonight’s games if was hilsbrough or 2 premier league teams 

Well that's nonsense.

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Incredible documentary on YouTube about that day. Hard to watch in places but it really brings home how much the community buys in to a club and how many people are behind the scenes making it work. Been to Valley Parade a few times and it's quirky but a proper ground. Belting away end with great atmosphere

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This is the one that hits home hardest for me, it could have been any of us at an average away game, not a big cup match with huge crowd or anything, it could literally have happened to any of us at any match. I remember being in the EE that day and hearing the news.

RIP the 54

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28 minutes ago, GasDestroyer said:

I went to Bradford Oct 84 with a bus load of City. 1-1 draw. That fire haunts me to this day.

Went to the same match as you in 84, sat in the stand that burnt down and always haunts me as well, if the fixtures had been different and city were playing there that day it could have been me and my step dad as we went to most away games that season. RIP

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4 hours ago, GasDestroyer said:

I went to Bradford Oct 84 with a bus load of City. 1-1 draw. That fire haunts me to this day.

Yep, remember being high up some crap terrace behind the goal for that one with the stand to my right.

We never really thought about it, but we watched football in loads of death traps then & were just luckier.

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A friend of mine was at Valley Parade that day. He was desperately trying to get people to go on the pitch but they were saying they couldn’t because of the ‘keep of the pitch’ signs. He saved some but so many pushed past him, down into the innards of the stand where the blaze was (presumably to their deaths). I know my mate had nightmares for many years afterwards and beats himself up that he could/should have done more. 
 

onlyin Britain is a keep off the grass sign enough to cause such a tragedy. 

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13 hours ago, richwwtk said:

This is the one that hits home hardest for me, it could have been any of us at an average away game, not a big cup match with huge crowd or anything, it could literally have happened to any of us at any match. I remember being in the EE that day and hearing the news.

RIP the 54

Was in the EE too that day when the news came through. It went right to your bones. People looking round as if to say 'What? A fire at a football match?'. It could've been any of us.

Our thoughts and prayers to those sadly lost, their families and those still affected.

RIP the 54.

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One of our ex -players and ex goalie coach Stuart Naylor was in the stand that day as he played for Lincoln, but was injured at the time I think. Had a chat to him about it once ,sounded horrendous and very much luck dictated whether you chose the right way out or not.

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Back in the late 1980s, i.e. just a few years after the Bradford City fire, I went to Elm Park (Reading’s old ground) to watch a random match and sat in the stand with wooden flooring.

I was amazed and, frankly, extremely concerned to see loads of people smoking and, to my horror, stubbing out their cigarettes on the wooden floor, a floor that was so decrepit that much of the timber had rotted and, through the holes, I could see the rubbish on the floor below.

The Kings Cross fire just a few years earlier was believed to have been caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, and I remember being relieved when I finally left the stadium.

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9 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Back in the late 1980s, i.e. just a few years after the Bradford City fire, I went to Elm Park (Reading’s old ground) to watch a random match and sat in the stand with wooden flooring.

I was amazed and, frankly, extremely concerned to see loads of people smoking and, to my horror, stubbing out their cigarettes on the wooden floor, a floor that was so decrepit that much of the timber had rotted and, through the holes, I could see the rubbish on the floor below.

The Kings Cross fire just a few years earlier was believed to have been caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, and I remember being relieved when I finally left the stadium.

Pretty sure Eastville had a wooden stand as well.

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