Valley Parade Fire - 1985

[Reading4eva]

Now the Hillsborough inquest has been completed, would it be worthwhile the FA looking at the 1985 Bradford Fire (research it on YouTube if you dont know or are too young), which was one of the worst things I've ever seen. Who is the culprit for this? The police did all they could and actually helped (should of been a warning for Hillsborough and a guideline of how to handle these things). Was it Bradford City, whose ground was unsafe by all measures (understand there was 100 year old litter under that stand)? Then again they were building a new stand to replace it. Or was it smoking on the terraces?

Anyhow there should now be a change of focus to the justice for those who died on that terrible afternoon.

[No Fixed Abode]

It was the grounds fault and the authorities

[Stooper]

The thing is Bradford was just a tragic accident, that was sadly unavoidable.

Smoking was still commonplace in public places, including football stadium stands and safety certificates were not required.

The stewards/police did all they could and if there had been fences (like at Hillsborough) a lot more would have died as the escape route to the pitch wouldn't have been possible.

You'll also see that the families of the 56 who died (mine included) all see it as an accident and don't hold anyone responsible.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Bradford was down purely and simply to neglect and lack of maintenance of the stand - rubbish was allowed to accumulate below the stand for years.

There's never been any suggestion of a cover-up or the causes of the disaster not being properly recognised and attributed.

[cmonurz]

It was the grounds fault and the authorities

Hypocrisy is a lifestyle choice for you, isn't it.

[Ian Royal]

Now the Hillsborough inquest has been completed, would it be worthwhile the FA looking at the 1985 Bradford Fire (research it on YouTube if you dont know or are too young), which was one of the worst things I've ever seen. Who is the culprit for this? The police did all they could and actually helped (should of been a warning for Hillsborough and a guideline of how to handle these things). Was it Bradford City, whose ground was unsafe by all measures (understand there was 100 year old litter under that stand)? Then again they were building a new stand to replace it. Or was it smoking on the terraces?

Anyhow there should now be a change of focus to the justice for those who died on that terrible afternoon.

Valley Parade was dealt with at the time and there was no attempt to pervert the cause of justice or blame the fans as far as I am aware so there is no purpose in trying to reopen it.

I had refresher firewarden training last week and by coincidence one of the videos we had to watch was of this fire. As I understand it, there was a potential negligence case against Bradford as the fire was caused by an unextinguished cigerette falling between the wooden planks of the stand and landing on decades of flammable refuse lying beneath it.

But back then health and safety recommendations didn't have to be implemented and there was a culture in the country of wait for a disaster and then legislate to prevent it recurring. This only really seems to have changed with legislation in 2006 where there's much more emphasis on predicting what could go wrong and preventing that from happening.

It really is horrifc viewing, but well worth watching to give people an appreciation of how dangerous fire is and how quickly it spreads.

[No Fixed Abode]

It was the grounds fault and the authorities

Hypocrisy is a lifestyle choice for you, isn't it.

That's just how smokers act - throwing down a lit cigarette without any care for anyone else. It's not the said persons fault the stand wasn't fire proof or the authorities didn't act quicker.

[creative_username_1]

Now the Hillsborough inquest has been completed, would it be worthwhile the FA looking at the 1985 Bradford Fire (research it on YouTube if you dont know or are too young), which was one of the worst things I've ever seen. Who is the culprit for this? The police did all they could and actually helped (should of been a warning for Hillsborough and a guideline of how to handle these things). Was it Bradford City, whose ground was unsafe by all measures (understand there was 100 year old litter under that stand)? Then again they were building a new stand to replace it. Or was it smoking on the terraces?

Anyhow there should now be a change of focus to the justice for those who died on that terrible afternoon.

Valley Parade was dealt with at the time and there was no attempt to pervert the cause of justice or blame the fans as far as I am aware so there is no purpose in trying to reopen it.

I had refresher firewarden training last week and by coincidence one of the videos we had to watch was of this fire. As I understand it, there was a potential negligence case against Bradford as the fire was caused by an unextinguished cigerette falling between the wooden planks of the stand and landing on decades of flammable refuse lying beneath it.

But back then health and safety recommendations didn't have to be implemented and there was a culture in the country of wait for a disaster and then legislate to prevent it recurring. This only really seems to have changed with legislation in 2006 where there's much more emphasis on predicting what could go wrong and preventing that from happening.

It really is horrifc viewing, but well worth watching to give people an appreciation of how dangerous fire is and how quickly it spreads.

I have no idea how you predict rare occurances and prevent them from happening.

[PieEater]

When you hear how it happened you have to wonder why it took that many years to occur given that smoking was commonplace during matches.

It was similar to the escalator fire in Kings Cross, another accident waiting for a smoker to make it happen (allegedly).

[Reading4eva]

It does make you wonder why the stand was wooden as well. In the space of 3 minutes the stand was alight

I think the most frightening thing about Elm Park was on the South Bank, where it was just the one walkway along the back of the stand. After Hillsborough and when I'd become fully aware of what had happened, it was unnerving. I also understand that in the early 90's a lot of the ticket booth operators were dismissed for holding the turnstiles from clicking, meaning the person who went through wouldnt count and therefore a fiver was pocketed. This is just hearsay so I dont know how true it is, but rather concerning all the same.

[cmonurz]

It does make you wonder why the stand was wooden as well. In the space of 3 minutes the stand was alight

I think the most frightening thing about Elm Park was on the South Bank, where it was just the one walkway along the back of the stand. After Hillsborough and when I'd become fully aware of what had happened, it was unnerving. I also understand that in the early 90's a lot of the ticket booth operators were dismissed for holding the turnstiles from clicking, meaning the person who went through wouldnt count and therefore a fiver was pocketed. This is just hearsay so I dont know how true it is, but rather concerning all the same.

Didn't go to Elm Park until 1997 - were there fences on the front of the stand before then?

[No Fixed Abode]

I remember a game at Elm Park where the North Stand was evacuated for a fire, against Notts County I believe. Everyone in the North stand and the players had to go/stay on the pitch. I think it was a burger kiosk that caught alight.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

It does make you wonder why the stand was wooden as well. In the space of 3 minutes the stand was alight

I think the most frightening thing about Elm Park was on the South Bank, where it was just the one walkway along the back of the stand. After Hillsborough and when I'd become fully aware of what had happened, it was unnerving. I also understand that in the early 90's a lot of the ticket booth operators were dismissed for holding the turnstiles from clicking, meaning the person who went through wouldnt count and therefore a fiver was pocketed. This is just hearsay so I dont know how true it is, but rather concerning all the same.

Definitely small-scale corruption like that was very widespread.

But the stand was wooden because that's how thing were - it was usual to build stands from wood for decades, with no other real alternatives.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I remember a game at Elm Park where the North Stand was evacuated for a fire, against Notts County I believe. Everyone in the North stand and the players had to go/stay on the pitch. I think it was a burger kiosk that caught alight.

Someone on HNA? will be along soon to tell the story of his uncle(?) who left his pipe lit in his pocket and caused an evacuation.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

And let's not forget that in the 80s there was a whole run of terrible accidents - Zeebrugge, Piper Alpha, Kings Cross, Bradford to mention just a few.

It was a decade where H&S was largely ignored in favour of making money - rules didn't exist in many industries, and those that did were rarely enforced or prosecuted.

[Reading4eva]

It does make you wonder why the stand was wooden as well. In the space of 3 minutes the stand was alight

I think the most frightening thing about Elm Park was on the South Bank, where it was just the one walkway along the back of the stand. After Hillsborough and when I'd become fully aware of what had happened, it was unnerving. I also understand that in the early 90's a lot of the ticket booth operators were dismissed for holding the turnstiles from clicking, meaning the person who went through wouldnt count and therefore a fiver was pocketed. This is just hearsay so I dont know how true it is, but rather concerning all the same.

Definitely small-scale corruption like that was very widespread.

But the stand was wooden because that's how thing were - it was usual to build stands from wood for decades, with no other real alternatives.

The Southbank was wooden??? I thought it was all concrete with the caving in walls of the gents loo's, the Northstand I thought was the only wooden bit.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

The Southbank was wooden??? I thought it was all concrete with the caving in walls of the gents loo's, the Northstand I thought was the only wooden bit.

Steel supporting structure, but all of the floor and seating was wooden. Pretty standard design for any stand that had accommodation (bars/changing rooms etc) under it.

[Reading4eva]

The Southbank was wooden??? I thought it was all concrete with the caving in walls of the gents loo's, the Northstand I thought was the only wooden bit.

Steel supporting structure, but all of the floor and seating was wooden. Pretty standard design for any stand that had accommodation (bars/changing rooms etc) under it.

I didnt realise that. I guess you learn something new every day. Another frightening aspect of this is that if the ground did have too many people in it, not only would there be the fear of crushing, but maybe even falling through

I honestly think for however much we loved Elm Park if we'd still been there, it would be 3000 all seater and we'd be in League Two or lower

[Friday's Legacy]

I remember a game at Elm Park where the North Stand was evacuated for a fire, against Notts County I believe. Everyone in the North stand and the players had to go/stay on the pitch. I think it was a burger kiosk that caught alight.

That was an old man with a pipe burning in his pocket. I don't recall the fans being on the pitch though, but this was in 1994/95 and my memory is sketchy.

[Barry the bird boggler]

I remember a game at Elm Park where the North Stand was evacuated for a fire, against Notts County I believe. Everyone in the North stand and the players had to go/stay on the pitch. I think it was a burger kiosk that caught alight.

That was an old man with a pipe burning in his pocket. I don't recall the fans being on the pitch though, but this was in 1994/95 and my memory is sketchy.

Fans from the North Stand were on the pitch along with the players.