Valley Parade - Fire Disaster

Fire Disaster

On 11 May 1985, a crowd of 11,076 attended Bradford City's final Division Three game of the 1984–85 season against Lincoln City. The Bradford side had secured the Division Three title the week before when they defeated Bolton Wanderers 2–0. The league trophy was presented to City's skipper Peter Jackson before the Lincoln game. The score was still 0–0 after 40 minutes of the game, when a small fire was noticed three rows from the back of the ground's main stand. The flames became more visible within minutes, and police started to evacuate people in the stand less than six minutes later. Club chairman Stafford Heginbotham, who was in the main stand, described the effect and his reaction to the disaster: "The fire just spread along the length of the stand in seconds. The smoke was choking. We couldn't breathe. It was to be our day." The game was stopped, and the wooden roof caught fire. The fire spread the length of the stand, and timber and the roof began to fall onto the crowds. Black smoke enveloped the rear passageways, where fans were trying to escape. Ultimately, the fire killed 56 spectators, ranging from 11-year-old children to the 86-year-old former chairman of the club, Sam Firth. At least 265 further supporters were injured. The few existing narrow escape routes led to locked doors in some cases, and the only escape for most spectators was directly onto the field. The match was abandoned and never replayed, with The Football League ordering the scoreline at the time of abandonment to stand.

"All of a sudden, a sheet of flame went up to the roof and along the entire length of the stand. Within five minutes of it starting, the whole stand was burnt down. In fact, I think it was timed at 4min 35sec. The strong wind was fanning it from the end where the blaze had started."

Sir Oliver Popplewell published his inquiry into the fire in 1986, which introduced new safety legislation for sports grounds across the country. Forensic scientist David Woolley believed the cause of the fire was from a discarded cigarette or match, which had dropped through gaps between the seating to a void below the stand where rubbish had built up. A number of police officers and 22 spectators were later awarded bravery awards for their deeds on the day.

The old wooden roof of the stand was due to be replaced the day after the Lincoln match, because it did not meet the safety regulations required for Division Two, where the team would be playing in the following season. Instead, it took until July 1986 for rebuilding work to begin. The ground was used for reserve team fixtures from September 1985, but only journalists and club officials were present to watch. Bradford City's senior team played home games at other grounds in West Yorkshire for 19 months while Valley Parade was rebuilt. The new ground cost £2.6 million to rebuild, and was reopened in December 1986.

More than £3.5 million was raised for victims of the fire and their families through the Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund. Memorials have been erected at the ground and at Bradford City Hall, the latter of which was provided by Bradford's twin town of Hamm, in Germany. The disaster is also marked by an annual remembrance ceremony on 11 May at Bradford City Hall, and an annual Easter-weekend youth tournament, contested between Bradford, Lincoln and other teams from across Europe.