![]() “I can’t understand why anyone would be angry with the man telling them the truth. I think when people look at how many fires Mr Heginbotham has had, how much money he made, and look further into it, the truth will come out and whether they like it or don’t like it, it is the truth. “These people complaining about the book, they need to get a life and open their eyes. I couldn’t get the disabled people in the stand and 56 people died. When there is a fire like that you try to help people, your friends, your fellow supporters. People talk about heroes but I wasn’t a hero. Hell, I didn’t lose my family in it, but I feel bitter. Hollinger praised Fletcher for the 15-year investigation that has culminated in him bringing out his book, 56 – The Story of the Bradford Fire, though he is also aware that the author has been criticised by some supporters. “I spoke the truth, so Heginbotham made sure I was banned,” Hollinger says. Fletcher’s book reveals how Heginbotham changed his story several times – “he is a professional liar,” Hollinger says – and banned Hollinger from going back to Valley Parade. His view has always been that it was not an accident and he once publicly challenged Heginbotham after it emerged the then chairman had denied seeing a letter warning Bradford about the potential for a major fire. Hollinger’s years on the staff at Valley Parade mean he intimately knew the stand that burned down. The case has never been closed, it was just a matter of somebody finding out a bit more, then a bit more, and thankfully that has happened now and we can go on from here to get it all out.” Everybody in their families can go out now and find out what happened and rest their children, their kiddies, and everyone else who died. It’s just a shame the man, Mr Heginbotham, is dead but the people who died on that ground today now can lie in rest. ![]() It has taken a long, long time but the time has come, and thank you to the people who have done this. I’m not apologising for saying that – I’m telling the truth. “I’ve been saying this since the fire in 1985 and the people in Bradford can now sit up and say: ‘Patsy Hollinger and many other people said this would happen’ and now it has happened. He says many other supporters knew about Heginbotham’s history with other major fires and that some referred to him before the Valley Parade tragedy as “Central Heating”, holding their hands up as if trying to keep warm. Hollinger still has the scars on his face from where he was burned pulling people out of the stand when the inferno took hold on the final day of Bradford’s promotion season. They stuck it for weeks and weeks in Liverpool, and months and months, years and years, to get the truth. Now they should know it again and for the first time since the Bradford City fire we are hopefully going to get the truth, just like the people at Liverpool did. Everybody in Bradford knew I was telling the truth. “It’s a shame this has taken out 30 years to come out and when I say the word ‘shame’ I mean it’s a shame because the man is dead.
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