Bradford Fire – victims demand new, independent inquiry
Valley Parade stadium fire memorial in Bradford, photo by Wikimedia Commons (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Thirty years ago, on 11 May, 56 people died and 256 were injured in a devastating fire which gutted Valley Parade, the home ground of Bradford City football club.
In just four minutes the fire swept through a decrepit stand which had been officially condemned. Fleeing survivors had to break down locked doors to escape.
The Popperwell official inquiry which followed this worst fire disaster in British football history concluded that a discarded cigarette had ignited accumulated rubbish under the wooden stand.
However, a recent book by survivor Martin Fletcher – Fifty Six: the Story of the Bradford Fire – castigates the Popperwell inquiry for its lack of investigative rigour.
Fletcher also criticised the club’s top officials saying: “The club at the time took no actual responsibility for its actions and nobody has ever really been held accountable for the level of negligence which took place. It was appalling that public money was given to the club while it was still owned by the same shareholders under whose direction the fire had happened. I do not include the people currently running the club.”
Further, the book points the finger of suspicion at the late owner and chairman of Bradford City at the time, Stafford Heginbotham. Fletcher’s investigations reveal a history of fires at businesses owned by Heginbotham. In fact there were eight fires in the 18 years before Bradford City’s, which led to substantial insurance payouts.
Clearly, there is enough evidence unearthed by Martin Fletcher to launch a new independent public inquiry into the fire and to obtain justice for the victims and their surviving families.
A review of Fifty Six: the Story of the Bradford Fire will appear in a future issue of the Socialist.
