There were no extinguishers in the stand's passageway for fear of vandalism, and one spectator ran to the clubhouse to find one, but was overcome by smoke and impeded by others trying to escape. Supporters either ran upwards to the back of the stand or downwards to the pitch to escape. The stand had no perimeter fencing to keep fans from accessing the pitch, thus averting an instance of crush asphyxia, as in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Footage of the accident at this point shows levels of confusion among the spectators – while many were trying to escape or to cross the pitch to the relative safety of the neighbouring stands, other spectators were observed cheering or waving to the still-rolling pitchside cameras. The lack of perimeter fencing kept the death toll down, and prevented it from reaching the hundreds or potentially the thousands. The Bradford City stadium fire was still the worst sporting tragedy of its kind in England at the time. Elsewhere in Britain, only the 66 deaths at Ibrox Stadium in Scotland 14 years earlier had seen a higher death toll.