The Telegraph & Argus celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and in honour of the occasion we are printing a story from our archives every day for 150 days.
Today we look at the Telegraph & Argus Friday 3 November 1978: The wraps had come off Bradford’s new John Street Market, a year after a blazing inferno had completely wrecked the £750,000 complex. Workmen had worked round the clock to finish the mammoth task of reconstructing the huge market so that more than 100 traders could return to work in time for the Christmas rush.
The new complex had been designed along the same lines as the original, which was opened in 1969, but with a few major changes. A sprinkler system had been installed, and fire automatic sensors, just in case. The inferno that destroyed the market was the largest tackled by city fireman for years, with more than 100 fire-fighters from all parts of West Yorkshire rushing to the dawn alarm.
The cause of the fire remained a mystery, as a full report into the blaze was never completed. The main theory was that candles lit during a power cut on the eve of the fire had ignited other material and smouldered for hours, away from the gaze of night watchmen.
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