Bradford City Football Ground Disaster - Valley Parade, Bradford, Yorkshire, UK.
N 53° 48.238 W 001° 45.638
30U E 581619 N 5962423
This is a memorial to 56 football fans killed in a fire at the Bradford City ground in 1985.
Waymark Code: WMB4KD
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/04/2011
Views: 8
On Saturday 11 May 1985, Bradford City met Lincoln City on the day when Bradford City should have been crowned Division Three Champions.
At this time football grounds had been neglected and little thought had gone into the safe development of them. This ground was no different to many others throughout the country.
The terraces were often built from wood as was the one down one side of the ground at Bradford. This one had open risers and as a result, over time, a great deal of discarded rubbish had accumulated underneath the stand. At 15:40, 40 minutes into the game a glowing light was seen under the stand. Three minutes later the fire brigade was called. It is thought that a fan had called for a fire extinguisher and had been misheard. In any event, such was the accumulation of rubbish under the stand, that it is unlikely that this would have been a successful way of tackling the fire. It took less than four minutes for the whole stand to be engulfed in fire. Most of the rear exits were found to be shut and fans spilled onto the pitch in an attempt to escape. At the time many football ground separated the supporters from the pitch with steel fencing in order to prevent pitch invasion. Thankfully this was not the case at Valley Parade. The death toll here would have been many times greater if it had been.
The resulting enquiry led to the banning of new wooden structures of this nature. Football grounds in the UK are now built from concrete and have closed risers.
256 people were injured in addition to those who died.
See also WMB4K7 and WM97FW.
Disaster Date: 05/11/1985
Memorial Sponsors: Bradford City FC.
Parking Coordinates: N 53° 48.238 W 001° 45.638
Disaster Type: Sociological
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Date of dedication: Not listed
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