Bradford City Fire

[kinboshi]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/15/bradford-fire-stafford-heginbotham-martin-fletcher

Coincidentally comes to light today of all days, but if there's any truth behind this then bloody hell.

[Doobs]

I used to speak to Martin Fletcher regularly on the Bradford City boards many years ago. 

Absolutely shocked by all this, not the best day I have ever had, but some great work there. 

[Doobs]

Claims a fire at Bradford City's stadium which killed 56 people was not an accident are just "speculation", a former sports minister has said.
...
But Gerry Sutcliffe, deputy leader of Bradford City Council in 1985, said the Valley Parade fire was not deliberate.
He stood by earlier findings, he said.
...

Mr Sutcliffe, who later became MP for Bradford South and was sports minister in the last Labour government, said he remained convinced by the findings of the initial inquiry.
"It [the Popplewell inquiry] concluded that it was caused by a discarded cigarette in what was an old wooden stand, and I have not heard anything to convince me that was not the case," he said.
"There will always be speculation but I just think it was a tragedy that cost the lives of 56 people and injured many more, and has scarred the city for many years."

You read all that and still think there is nothing suspicious in the fire?  Solid understanding of probabilties, Gerry.

[AndrewT]

I was at university with Martin (we used to do a radio show together) and I found him a bit odd to start with, which became more understandable once I learned what had happened to him. Fair play to him for doing the hard work at finding all this stuff out - I'd never heard any rumours of this disaster being dodgy.

Oddly enough, when I knew him he was a Forest fan, and he'd also been at Hillsborough as well.

[Doobs]

I was at university with Martin (we used to do a radio show together) and I found him a bit odd to start with, which became more understandable once I learned what had happened to him. Fair play to him for doing the hard work at finding all this stuff out - I'd never heard any rumours of this disaster being dodgy.

Oddly enough, when I knew him he was a Forest fan, and he'd also been at Hillsborough as well.

He couldn't face going back to Valley Parade for a while.  I don't know how something like that can't scar you horribly.  I just watched it on TV and can't watch the footage now.

I guess it is too late to find out the truth now.  There aren't a lot of Martin Fletcher believers on the Bradford City boards.  Maybe Heginbotham was genuinely unlucky and this was the one that wasn't deliberate? Having 8 accidental fires previously is just so unlikely that it isn't even worth considering. 

[tikay]

It's barely believable that this story has never (to my knowledge) surfaced before, or even been hinted at. It was 30 years ago. 

BBC "Grandstand" were doing their round up of games, & they showed the fire as it developed. None of us even considered, for a moment, what a tragedy had unfolded.

[Girgy85]

My father and grandfather were there on that terrible day. Luckily both were able to get to safety on the pitch via climbing over the dugouts.

Both are no longer with us now but my half brother contacted me yesterday saying the daily mirror were after running an article on this. As my brother had the same name as our Father. He is under the impression that it is true and claims he knows someone that knows the truth.

We will always remember the 56 regardless RIP