Sunday May 11th marked 40 years since 54 Bradford City supporters and two travelling Lincoln fans tragically died in a fire at the stadium.
Bradford District Commander Benjy Bush and firefighters from Bradford Fire Station joined players, club officials and families of those who had lost their lives to lay wreaths in Bradford’s Centenary Square in a service of remembrance.
Chief Fire Officer at WYFRS John Roberts says “As a fire and rescue service it is important every year for us to pay our respects to those who lost their lives or were injured that day. It’s an incident which affected many of our members of staff at the time who attended the scene, a truly challenging day for our firefighters and one of the most tragic losses of life that we have suffered in West Yorkshire.
“The effects of 11th May 1985 are still with us as a service today, and we’d like to send our condolences and thoughts to the friends and family of those who lost their lives or who were injured. Firefighters at Bradford have been working hard all year to raise money for the Bradford Burns Unit in memory of the victims, which shows how much it’s still ingrained in our crews.”
Some former firefighters from WYFRS were featured on a documentary this weekend to mark the anniversary - “Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire” is set to air on BBC Two at 9:00 PM on Sunday.
Crews from Bradford District are still holding initiatives to support the Burns Unit – you can attend a legends match at Bradford City or also donate to them HERE.