Valley Parade Fire Disaster
The Valley Parade fire disaster occurred on May 11, 1985 in Bradford , Yorkshire , England . 56 spectators were killed and 265 injured when a sudden fire ravaged the main stand of the Valley Parade Stadium of England football team Bradford City (The Bantams) during a game against Lincoln City .
background
The Bantams had secured the championship a week before this game and thus achieved promotion to the Second Division , this game should be the crowning final event of the season. The affected outdated wooden grandstand was occupied by around 3,000 spectators and the entire stadium with 11,076 spectators was almost sold out.
Before the season started, the local fire brigade had complained about the paper waste under the old wooden stand and recommended that this possible fire load be removed. This recommendation was not complied with because the plan was to replace the old wooden grandstand with a new one made of steel and concrete after the season.
course
Cause investigators determined that the fire was likely accidentally started because a bystander put a cigarette in a polystyrene cup. The cup fell through a hole between the grandstand steps on garbage, this ignited and the fire spread extremely quickly. At first no one thought it was a serious incident. The danger was underestimated by fans and organizers. This was expressed, among other things, in the fact that many spectators who had fled to the field sang fan songs and sometimes jumped around in euphoria. Within seconds, violent gusts of wind fanned the fire. In addition, the resulting heat, together with the highly toxic, highly flammable fire gases, gathered under the wooden roof, which was covered with asphalt slabs, which led to a so-called flashover after just under three minutes . In a very short time, the entire length of the grandstand was completely in flames.
Most of the grandstand spectators ran onto the field, but some tried to escape the fire through the rear exits of the grandstand. Presumably the turnstiles at the grandstand entrance blocked the fleeing spectators. The emergency exits had been closed by the organizer before the game so that nobody could sneak in during the game. This was probably one of the main reasons that so many people were killed.
Many people could not escape from the grandstand over the wall to the field of play, as the fire had completely ignited the grandstand within just four minutes.
The fire brigade arrived at the fire scene after four minutes, but had made difficult by thick smoke , high flame and heat the fire fight. Only then was it possible to save people. The fire had destroyed the entire grandstand, seats, floodlights and barriers. The recovery work lasted until the early morning of the next day . A total of 56 people died, mainly as a result of burn injuries. It is to be seen as a peculiarity that most of the deceased were victims of the flames and did not die of smoke inhalation.
consequences
The disaster was broadcast live on Yorkshire Television's local sports program, including pictures of people burning. It resulted in new legislation requiring improved security measures so that if a fire breaks out, spectators can escape more quickly and safely via escape routes. The following Popplewell report, however, was not immediately followed by every club; in particular, the recommendation to avoid high fences was not implemented everywhere. This fact as well as gross negligence at the entrance led to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 , when a total of 96 Liverpool fans were crushed because they could not escape the crowd in front of the high fences.
controversy
Internet videos of the disaster
In 2007, the illegal uploading of Yorkshire Television's original news reports to YouTube created controversy. Copyright is strictly protected by Yorkshire Television and out of respect for the families of the victims, footage of the disaster is to be used only for fire awareness training purposes.
The film was removed from the site following threats of legal action by Yorkshire Television and substantial protests from Bradford City and fan associations for the club. In the meantime, the film can be found many times on the Internet.
Diadora commercial
In 2004 Bradford City's supplier, the Italian company Diadora , broadcast a commercial in which images of the catastrophe were cut with scenes of war and the slogan, "The world needs more to play with" was inserted. In some Internet broadcasts the saying, "90 minutes of play is better than 1 minute of silence" was heard. Club and fan groups were horrified. After massive protests, Diadora withdrew the Europe-wide campaign and blamed the commissioned advertising agency for the use of the offending material. Shortly thereafter, Bradford City terminated the collaboration with Diadora.
