Bradford City Fire - 35 years ago

[Rocksuperstar]

Today marks 35 years since one of the most tragic events in British football - certainly the most tragic that was broadcast live on television.

11th May 1985, Bradford City v Lincoln City, Division 3 league match. Prior to the match, Bradford had been awarded the division 3 trophy, the game kicked off at 3.04pm. Shortly before the whistle for half time, a small fire broke out in one of the main stands. Using the timestamp at the bottom of the screen, it begins at 15:44:28.



Four minutes.

56 people lost their lives in total. The fire was so fierce, at some points in that video you can see the police, showing bravery on a level above, wearing only their standard uniforms, charging back to grab people and the heat alone igniting their hair. It spread so quickly that once the stand had burned entirely to the ground and the fire was out, the investigators found two deceased fans still sat in their seats.

Take a minute to remember them today.

 

[Spriggan]

I remember this like it was yesterday, the overwhelming feelings of horror at the speed of the fire, the helplessness, and deep sorrow for all the souls trapped without a chance. Sad time indeed ?

 

[RickyVilla]

. I didn't realise it happened so quickly. I went there in 94 and had a tour of the ground with my college. RIP people.

 

[Gassin's finest]

I actually had to study this for my civil engineering HND. About how not to build something, basically.

 

[Col_M]

That was shocking to watch. Such a tragedy.

 

[lincspurs]

Knew one of the Lincoln fans who died, he used to organise bus trips to both home & away games & has a stand named after him, & one other Lincoln fan who also died, in the current Lincoln stadium.

 

[GioW]

Wasn't born and first time I've seen any footage. That's horrific.

 

[Houdini]

It's video is used in other football stadium for training purposes.
I've seen people walking out while it was being shown..... A dreadful tragedy.

 

[UncleBuck]

I remember watching it that day in the afternoon, did they have slightly delayed footage on tv as to what was going on?

 

[Rocksuperstar]

It's video is used in other football stadium for training purposes.
I've seen people walking out while it was being shown..... A dreadful tragedy.

That logo at the beginning is a fire safety equipment firm, from what I remember? I know it was also used as part of a training exercise for the Fire Brigade too at some point - like @Gassin's finest says, about how the way a structure is built turning it into a wind tunnel for fire and how fast it can really spread.

The footage belongs to Yorkshire Television/Tyne Tees PLC - one of the only production companies that actually copyrighted their footage during the early 90s and which upheld them into the digital era, Rather than make a buck from it, this was locked away for a long time and only really licensed for educational training purposes.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

I remember watching it that day in the afternoon, did they have slightly delayed footage on tv as to what was going on?

Was on a delay, wasn't censored.

Bradford City stadium fire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ernie78]

It was my mates first ever game, he got separated from his family but was fortunately helped out by a woman - they were reunited 32 yrs later https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co...-fire-at-valley-parade-as-a-six-year-old-boy/