Firefighters and support staff raise £30,000 for Bradford Royal Infirmary health appeal (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Firefighters and support staff raise £30,000 for Bradford Royal Infirmary health appeal

7:00am Saturday 24th July 2010 in

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Fire service employees in West Yorkshire have exceeded their £25,000 fundraising target for the Bradford Burns Unit Appeal.

Firefighters and support staff have raised almost £30,000 for the appeal, set up to mark the 25th anniversary of the Valley Parade fire disaster, by collecting funds at Bradford City’s home games, Bradford Bulls matches and galas.

They have also held raffles, supermarket bag-packs, a celebrity golf day and a charity auction at Hollins Hall Hotel in Baildon, attended by former footballers such as Lee Sharpe, Trevor Cherry, John Hendrie, Mick Bates, Duncan Mckenzie, Dean Windass, Martin Buchan and former snooker champion Joe Johnson.

Chief fire officer Simon Pilling said: “It is with great sadness that we look back 25 years to that fateful day in May 1985 when, despite the efforts of some incredibly brave firefighters, police officers, supporters and members of the public, 56 people lost their lives and hundreds were left traumatised by the tragedy.

“The disaster had a huge impact on West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the wider fire service community as a whole; it is an event we will never forget. I would therefore like to congratulate everyone involved in raising this incredible amount of money and I sincerely hope it will improve the lives of people affected by fire.”

Three-quarters of the money they raised will go to the Burns Unit and the remainder to The Fire Fighters Charity.

The appeal was launched last August by the T&A and Bradford City FC to raise £100,000 to keep the burns research unit going.