Last nurse who cared for Bradford City fire victims retires

One of the last remaining working nurses who cared for people caught up in the Bradford City fire disaster is retiring after 44 years of nursing.

Angela O'Neill was on a day off when the call came to help some of those injured in the tragedy which unfolded at Valley Parade in 1985.

On Saturday, the 62-year-old, who has secondary breast cancer, will work her final shift with colleagues at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI).

More than four decades and hundreds of patients later, she says she will never forget her experiences on day of the fire. Following the blaze on 11 May 1985, 56 people died and about 265 were left injured.

Angela was staying in the nurses' home at BRI when a call came through on the internal telephone saying there had been a "major incident".

"My friend and I, obviously, just ran down as fast as we could down to A&E," she says.

"When we got to the bottom corridor where A&E is based, the smell is what hit you first.

"We just looked at each other and took ourselves into A&E."

She says the scene she encountered was one of "organised chaos".

"There's no other way of describing it," she says.

"The people who were coordinating where everything needed to be were absolutely phenomenal, they were so good."

She and her colleague were tasked with setting up a dressing clinic for the "walking wounded", she remembers, helping those with minor burns to their hands and feet.

"In a lot of ways it felt unreal, but they are memories that will go to my grave with me," she says.

Angela is believed to be the last nurse still working at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust who was involved in caring for victims of the disaster, according to a trust spokesperson.

The nurse, who finished her nursing training in 1984, helped survivors of the fire recover from burns, fractures and life-changing injuries in the following weeks and months.

Over the following decades, she built a career in trauma and orthopaedic nursing - becoming manager of a trauma, breast and orthopaedics ward.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and again in 2022.

Looking ahead to retirement, Angela says she plans to focus on family, travel and "making memories" with loved ones.

"Living with secondary breast cancer is a lottery to how long I have left," she says.

"I have a bucket list of places I want to visit and adventures I want to have.

"My husband Peter and I have restored an old camper van and we're looking forward to exploring more of the UK together.

"I also want to spend precious time with my six grandchildren and my elderly parents."

She adds: "It's been a privilege to care for the people of Bradford for so many years.

"Nursing will always be part of who I am."

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