Bradford City Stadium Fire - Fire

Fire

After 40 minutes of the first half, the score remained 0–0, in what was described as a drab affair with neither team threatening to score. At 3:40 pm, five minutes before half-time, the first sign of a fire—a glowing light—was noticed three rows from the back of block G. It is believed the fire started when a spectator dropped a match, lit cigarette or tobacco, which fell through holes in the stand to rubbish which had accumulated below. One witness saw paper or debris on fire, about nine inches below the floor boards. The stand seats did not have risers; this down the years had allowed a huge accumulation of rubbish and paper under the stand, which had been lost or disposed of by dropping it back between the seats.

Spectators initially felt their feet becoming warmer; one of them ran to the back of the stand for a fire extinguisher but found none. A police officer shouted to a colleague for an extinguisher. However, his call was misheard and instead the fire brigade were radioed. The call was timed at 3:43 pm. However, the fire escalated rapidly and flames became visible, and so police started to evacuate the stand. The blaze began to spread; the roof and wooden stands were soon on fire. One eyewitness, Geoffrey Mitchell, told the BBC: "It spread like a flash. I've never seen anything like it. The smoke was choking. You could hardly breathe." One of the linesmen informed match referee Don Shaw, who stopped the game with three minutes remaining before half-time.

The wooden roof, which was covered with tarpaulin and sealed with asphalt and bitumen, caught fire. The material combined with a strong wind to spread the fire along the stand, creating the impression of a fireball, setting fire to the entire stand. Burning timbers and molten materials fell from the roof onto the crowd and seating below, and black smoke enveloped a passageway behind the stand, where many spectators were trying to escape. It took less than four minutes for the entire stand to be engulfed in flames.

There were no extinguishers in the stand's passageway for fear of vandalism, and one spectator ran to the clubhouse to find one, but was overcome by smoke and others trying to escape. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. Most of the exits at the back were either locked or shut, and there were no stewards present to open them, but seven were either forced or found open. Three men smashed down one door and at least one exit was opened by people outside. Geoffrey Mitchell said: "There was panic as fans stampeded to an exit which was padlocked. Two or three burly men put their weight against it and smashed the gate open. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get out." At the front of the stand, men threw children over the wall to help them escape. Most of those who escaped onto the pitch were saved.

People who had escaped the fire then tried to assist their fellow supporters. Police officers also assisted in the rescue attempts. One man clambered over burning seats to help a fan, as did player John Hawley, and one officer led fans to an exit, only to find it shut and had to turn around. Bradford City's coach Terry Yorath, whose family was in the stand, ran on to the pitch to help evacuate people. Another player went into the office space to ensure there was nobody there. One fan put his jumper over a fellow supporter's head to extinguish flames. Those who escaped were taken out of the ground to neighbouring homes and a pub, where a television screened World of Sport, which had live pictures from the ground. Those who escaped queued for a telephone to ring their families.

A total of 56 people died in the fire. Of those, 54 were Bradford supporters and two from Lincoln. They included three who tried to escape through the toilets, 27 who were found by exit K and turnstiles six to nine at the rear centre of the stand and two elderly people who died in their seats. Some had been crushed as they tried to crawl under turnstiles to escape. One retired mill worker made his way to the pitch, but was walking about on fire from head to foot. People smothered him to extinguish the flames, but he later died in hospital. Half of those who died were either aged under 20 or over 70, the eldest of which was the club's oldest supporter, former chairman, Sam Firth, aged 86. More than 265 supporters were injured; the fire was described as the worst fire disaster in the history of British football, and the worst disaster since 66 spectators died at the Ibrox disaster, Glasgow in 1971. One policeman said: "It must have been survival of the fittest—men first."

The fire brigade arrived at the ground four minutes after they were called. However, the fire had consumed the stand by that point and they were faced by huge flames and dense smoke. Unfortunately, they were unable to start fighting the fire immediately so that supporters could be first rescued from the ground. The fire destroyed the main stand and left only burned seats, lamps and fences. Some of those who died were still sitting upright in their seats covered by tarpaulin. Police worked until 4 am the following morning, under lighting, to remove all the bodies.

The match was being recorded by Yorkshire Television for transmission on their Sunday afternoon regional football show The Big Match. Coverage of the fire was transmitted minutes after the event on the live ITV Saturday afternoon sports programme World of Sport and the BBC's Grandstand.