The celebrations in Bradford City should have been one of the tragedies this weekend forty years ago, as the fire swept the club's home court and claimed the lives of 56 fans. This is the story of the disaster on May 11, 1985, as four people who have experienced it say.

"It was a wonderful day," recalled Bradford commentator John Helm, who worked on Yorkshire TV that day.

“The sun is shining and everyone in the city is happy.”

A home game against Lincoln City at the Valley Parade was because it was a memorable end of the season that made the hosts the third division, the first championship since winning the same league in 1929.

Helm added: "Bradford City has won the promotion and will receive a trophy in front of fans they worship."

“Lincoln does nothing, so you can’t imagine what’s wrong.”

For centre-back and club captain Peter Jackson, leading his hometown club to a championship is the source of victory.

"Especially for my local lad, living and going to school, it's a proud day," Jackson said.

“That should have been a special day, but it turned into a catastrophic day.”

The game started well, but around the 40-minute mark, the helmsman found something unusual across from his vantage point.

"My comments are almost like they are in a garden cabin on the ground Midland Road side," he said.

“I think it was Stuart McCall who had the ball ready in his hand, and I just noticed that on his shoulder, about seven or eight lines, a small piece of fire.

"The most chilling fact for me is that after four minutes, the entire stall disappeared. Four and a half minutes. This is the barbarian of that fire."

24-year-old fan Linda Norton and husband Bob stood on the side of the affected stands.

Linda recalled: "I saw some smoke, and the first time I thought it was a smoke bomb." Linda was pregnant with her son Li four months old.

“Then you see the flames, people run out from the back of the stands, others head forward and climb over the wall and into the court.

"We went to the court ourselves and the flames grew bigger and bigger. It was terrible."

Meanwhile, Helm was told that the scene photos of the scene were passed on by the state television station to what happened.

"(Information) is not to exaggerate," he said.

"Then why do you see the horror in front of me?

“Since that day, all emergency services are still using videos for training.

“One time in my mind, one or two people threw stones at me and shouted, ‘Seat some of your cameras’.

“Well, that’s a great job because these pictures have a huge value today.”

The Valley Parade was Steve Ding of the Valley Parade, who was 22 years old at the time.

"We turned on the TV station and saw it in the stands only when we got back to the hotel at about 17:00 BST," Steve said.

"I still remember these words, 'We're going to go back to the valley parade with horror scenes now,'My first thought, because hooliganism was so common at the time, was, 'Did they fight on the day of the celebration today?''

After seeing the fire, Steve and Ken’s son were with him on a trip to London and ran downstairs to the hotel reception to call home.

Thankfully, neither Alan nor Ken were hurt.

"It's just a sigh of relief," Steve said.

"My mom picked up the phone and my dad actually just walked through the front door. He was fine, but he coughed a lot because of the smoke."

Back on the court, Linda recalls her, Bob feels helpless as the fire spreads.

“We want to help, but the flames get stronger and you feel the heat. You just don’t know what to do.

"We thought everyone was out. I saw a middle-aged man lying on the court, and we thought it might have a heart disease, maybe someone who was injured.

"But we got home and called the TV and they said people were dead. Then, the number of people who died increased every few minutes. We couldn't believe it."

The Jackson Club captain managed to take his wife and daughter out of the stadium unscathed, but in a pre-cell phone era he suffered a painful six-hour wait before finding out that his father and two brothers escaped without injury.

“On the way home, I drove past the Bradford Royal Infirmary and just saw hundreds of people sitting on the wall of Bradford city shirts,” he said.

“I stopped and entered the casualties department.

"There are 20% of people who have burns waiting to see, and all they want to talk to me about is playing Leeds United and all these big clubs next season. It's humble."

After returning home that night, Jackson remembers doing a TV interview in his garden and then “sitting and living on my kit.”

"I'm not going to bed - I'm just staring at the TV," he added. "I just don't know what to do."

The final death toll was later found to be 56. Bradford supporters fifty-four, while the other two are Lincoln fans Bill Stacey and Jim West. A position from the Lincil Bank Ground is named after them as a lasting tribute.

Helm later recalls interviewing supporters, including a man who was able to escape by climbing up a wall and entering the court, but could only watch his older father be fatally captured and unable to climb himself.

"These are those shocking stories... Now, it makes my spine tremble, to be honest," the commentator said.

“It’s still very primitive, even for 40 years.”

A common link between Helm and Jackson's story is a workplace method of trauma and sadness, which is a lot of times.

Helm asked to get off work the next day - a Sunday - but was told he had to go to Odsal Stadium in Bradford to introduce the track's coverage as planned.

"I did it, but understand that I'll take a week off because I'm undoubtedly traumatized," he explained.

“I probably should have a little consultation, which I have never had before.”

Meanwhile, Jackson said he and his companions “never received any help or support” when he started organizing squad trips to funerals, charities and visiting injured people at the hospital.

“It’s a big responsibility for a young guy of my age,” he said. “I just remember thinking, ‘We didn’t train for this – we are professional footballers.”

Steve returned from London by train on Sunday and found his father was missed by fireballs while fleeing Ken, who had been standing in the corner of the ground, on the stand to the left.

"He's very laid back, my dad," Steve said. "He's a trade engineer. If he's traumatized or feels anxious or anxious at all, he won't talk about it."

Alan picked up and dropped off from the intersection in Bradford on Sunday night, and Alan drove Steve through the valley on his way home.

"It's horrible," he said. "You can see the heat of it. The remaining metal frame is disconnected and uncomfortable.

“I was really torn between going to London and going to the game, but I just felt like I couldn’t get the kids (in the boys’ squad) down.

"Sometimes I think of what would happen if I went. What would happen?"

Inquiry, I found out that the fire had happened by chance, which was caused by a cigarette falling on the garbage gathered below the stands.

Decades later, in a review of the inquiry, theories argued that the fire might have begun intentionally.

However, both Helm and Jackson clearly believe there is no foul game.

The former captain said firmly: "This is an accident."

“Under the shelf, it’s a tinder box.

"After that game, the entire position will be knocked down so that the ground can accommodate the second division crowd. It's sad that the excavator is ready to remove it."

Helm added: “The garbage under the stands is the cause.

"This is something that shouldn't have happened. Hopefully it won't happen any more anywhere in the world."

After the disaster, the construction of new wooden buildings at the British Football Stadium was prohibited from smoking.

Linda said she rarely talked about the fire until she joined the BBC's opera choir earlier this year.

She has exchanged anecdotes with other members, including Steve.

"Talking about it helps," she said. "We remember those 56 people, not only an anniversary, but 100% every day."

Jackson felt that while the tragedy was always respected in Bradford and Lincoln, he later managed it there, it had become a "forgotten disaster" outside of both cities.

"It's a day that you'll never forget," Jackson said. "The important story comes down to future generations."