wednesbury was also the scene of two major tragedies during the second half of the 20th century. on 21 december 1977, four siblings aged between 4 and 12 years died in a house fire in school road, friar park, at the height of the national firefighters strike. the house was demolished soon afterwards, leaving a gap in a terrace of council houses.on 24 september 1984, four pupils and a teacher from stuart bathurst rc high school were killed when their minibus was struck by a roll of steel which fell off the back of a lorry just outside the school.