Monday, May. 20, 1985
World Notes
Just before half time of a scoreless soccer match between Bradford City and Lincoln City last Saturday, fire broke out in the main grandstand of the Bradford stadium in Yorkshire. With a strong breeze blowing, the wooden structure, with 3,000 people inside, was engulfed by flames and dense black smoke within five minutes. Some 10,000 fans were in the stadium and millions more were watching on television as adults and children fled from the grandstand with their hair and clothes on fire. Many threw themselves onto the soccer field to smother the flames.
Police made repeated trips into the stand to rescue trapped fans. Terry Yorath, the Bradford coach, suffered cuts on his face as he tried to help people escape. "The fire simply erupted at the back of the stand and seemed to spread everywhere inside seconds," Yorath said. "We were all panic- stricken and had no idea what to do." The fire started under the grandstand floorboards, and authorities are investigating the possibility of arson. The estimated toll: 40 dead, 200 injured. Said a police spokesman: "As far as we know it is the worst fire ever in a British football stadium."