Avfc96 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/15/bradford-fire-martin-fletcher-stafford-heginbotham T he question Martin Fletcher has most often been asked putting together his extraordinary research into the Bradford City fire is: “Where did you find all this information?” A critical part of the answer was a conversation with his mother, Susan, on 11 May 1994, the ninth anniversary of the disaster. They had just been to the annual memorial service at the rebuilt Valley Parade when she explained for the first time her true thoughts about the fire that killed 56 people, including her other son, her husband, her brother-in-law and father-in-law. “You know it wasn’t Stafford Heginbotham’s [bradford’s then chairman] first fire, don’t you?” were her words, recounted in Fifty-Six – The Story of the Bradford Fire. “I never believed it was an accident and I never will. I don’t think Stafford intended for people to die. But people did. All because he went back to the one thing he knew best that would get him out of trouble.” There's alot more to the article on the link above. Edited April 16, 2015 by Avfc96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted April 16, 2015 Would be absolutely shocking if true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Yes it does look strongly probable. I just wonder why with all those insurance cases why the insurance companies couldn't prove anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TS Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 If this is true, (which I hope for the sake of human decency it isn't), it leads to the question why the hell would you do it on a match day? Why endanger all those lives? Surely a random 'electrical' fire midweek would do just as good a job for an insurance payout. I feel for those families. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Agreed. Unless the guy is a homicidal maniac, there was no reason to torch the place on a match day. The official account seems probable. Cigarette lands on a pile of paper and rubbish underneath wooden stands... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/15/bradford-fire-martin-fletcher-stafford-heginbotham T he question Martin Fletcher has most often been asked putting together his extraordinary research into the Bradford City fire is: “Where did you find all this information?” A critical part of the answer was a conversation with his mother, Susan, on 11 May 1994, the ninth anniversary of the disaster. They had just been to the annual memorial service at the rebuilt Valley Parade when she explained for the first time her true thoughts about the fire that killed 56 people, including her other son, her husband, her brother-in-law and father-in-law. “You know it wasn’t Stafford Heginbotham’s [bradford’s then chairman] first fire, don’t you?” were her words, recounted in Fifty-Six – The Story of the Bradford Fire. “I never believed it was an accident and I never will. I don’t think Stafford intended for people to die. But people did. All because he went back to the one thing he knew best that would get him out of trouble.” There's alot more to the article on the link above. The evidence is pretty damming, absolutely horrific. Damning? It's entirely circumstantial. It looks incredibly fishy, but it will be impossible to prove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 What is the evidence because I could not garner that from the article? There was something his mum said and then some mention of other fires he had been "involved" in? That's all I got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbauer24 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Reading a follow up article on BBC, it seems as though the whole argument is flawed; as the stand was up for demolition it was no longer insured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 16, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) If this is true, (which I hope for the sake of human decency it isn't), it leads to the question why the hell would you do it on a match day? Why endanger all those lives? Surely a random 'electrical' fire midweek would do just as good a job for an insurance payout. I feel for those families. Well IF it's true, then I would hope his thinking was firstly that nobody would actually get killed (i.e. he didn't thin it would spread so fast). Then doing it on matchday would, as you've kind of proved above, seem much less suspicious. Edited April 16, 2015 by Stevo985 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I've seen this probably 20 times, and it's still totally surreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 17, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted April 17, 2015 I remember seeing the footage 5 or 6 years ago and it was the first I'd heard of the incident. Couldn't believe there was so little awareness of it when stuff like Hillsbrough is known by pretty much everybody. Obviously a large part of that is down to the families of victims raising awareness, and it appears Hillsbrough do that a lot more. But still, even down to morbid curiosity, I'm always surprised this incident doesn't get more coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mockingbird_franklin Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) I guess the question about insurance would be easy to answer with a little research into whether any insurance payout were made, I've read interviews where people discredit the 'due for demolition within a few days' reports. Agai if it was then surely there would be supporting evidence in the form of a paper trail showing the plans for demolition. In the article their is no mention of any insurance payout over the fire and It's probably safe to assume 15 years of research would have uncovered one if there was, so it appears there may not have been one, No mention if any money came in from any other sources either in relation to the fire. Are there people capable of setting fire to a stand full of people? Despite hoping not, there probably are, Doesn't mean that somebody did in this case even if their history with fire effected building looks very fishy, I really hope this is all conjecture and coincidence, If not it's going to be a pretty rough thing for families of the victims to take in, I imagine even the suggestions and media attention surrounding them is going to open up a lot of emotions. Edited April 17, 2015 by mockingbird_franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I've seen this probably 20 times, and it's still totally surreal. some heroic policemen there you watch it and you think everyone had got out fairly unscathed ( apart from the man on fire at the end ) .. and then to find out 56 people died just really hits home how fast it happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted April 17, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted April 17, 2015 Yep. Most of the people who died tried to get out at the back of the stand at the top (the stand is on a hill so the exits are at the top of the stand). But either didn't make it because doors were locked or got stuck in turnstiles. Few people tried to get out of the toilet and didn't make it. And one old couple died in their seats Unfortunately, the guy on fire in the video also died. Are there people capable of setting fire to a stand full of people? Despite hoping not, there probably are, Doesn't mean that somebody did in this case even if their history with fire effected building looks very fishy, I really hope this is all conjecture and coincidence, If not it's going to be a pretty rough thing for families of the victims to take in, I imagine even the suggestions and media attention surrounding them is going to open up a lot of emotions. Like I said above, if it was deliberate then my only thought could be that they just didn't expect it to spread like it did. The only way I can see it being deliberate. Despicable either way IF true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 There's something really creepy about how the man on fire is walking so calmly. No flailing, or rolling around on the floor. Weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Horrific video, despite seeing it a number of times it always surprises me how fast it spread. Within minutes the whole stand was up in flames. Heroic work from a lot of the fans and the Police is getting people away from the burning stand. It was so hot you can see they have to cover their face to go anywhere near it. That poor bloke at the end on fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 There's something really creepy about how the man on fire is walking so calmly. No flailing, or rolling around on the floor. Weird I know, it's almost as if he's accepted his fate. Very shocking stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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