Stardust fire risk deemed ‘pretty horrendous’ by insurance surveyor weeks before blaze

The “fire risk” at the Stardust nightclub was deemed “pretty horrendous” by an insurance company’s fire-surveyor weeks before a blaze caused the deaths of 48 people at the north Dublin venue in 1981, inquests into the deaths have heard.

Richard Williams, who worked for Hibernian Insurance (now Aviva) from 1961 to 1997, told Dublin coroner’s court on Wednesday he recommended turning down insurance cover to the Stardust in 1979 and 1981.

He conducted a fire survey there in 1981.

“This involved checking on construction, linings, etc but did not include patron safety. I duly reported on the fire risk, which I deemed as pretty horrendous, and recommended that we did not quote, so it was turned down again.”

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He had previously declined to quote for the Stardust in 1979, when he worked in underwriting, on reading a colleague’s fire survey. The inquests have heard the Stardust had insurance through another company.

Mr Williams was giving evidence on day 80 of fresh inquests into the deaths of 48 people, aged 16 to 27, following a fire in the early hours of February 14th, 1981.

Asked by Mark Tottenham, BL, for the coroner, why he thought the fire risk “horrendous” the witness said the Stardust building could have been considered a “reasonably good fire risk” as it was a solid concrete construction. “But it was made worse by the combustible products put into it.”

He said a new cold room behind the main bar, in the northern part of the building, was “highly combustible” as its walls were filled with polystyrene foam insulation with an aluminium skim.

“When we saw the cold room I realised there was a serious danger involved in [electrical] arcing in that particular area,” he said. He also had concerns about the materials used to line the ballroom’s internal walls and the ceiling tiles.

Earlier, Anthony Pasquetti, who had begun evidence on Tuesday reiterated his account of seeing “10 foot” flames through the roof at the north of the Stardust at about 1.38am – from his family home nearby, minutes before a flame was first seen inside the venue.

When he and a neighbour got to the front of the Stardust, by about 1.45am, emergency services had not arrived but did “about five minutes” later. At first, he said no one was exiting the building, but he soon saw kitchen staff coming out. He recognised two neighbours among them.

There were a few older people coming out of the Lantern Rooms function room with drinks. It was a “few minutes” before he saw younger people exiting from was exit 3, behind the stage area, he said.

Fergus Kane, 18 at the time, was at the Stardust with his girlfriend, and friends Bernard Hogan, Eugene Hogan (24) who perished and Mr Hogan’s wife Marie. Eugene and Marie, who had two infant daughters, had been due to move to Co Kerry on February 15th, 1981, as he had been offered a job.

The five had been dancing when Mr Kane heard a “sigh” from the crowd. He looked around to see a small fire in an area of tiered seating in the West alcove. “It wasn’t that big and didn’t look like it was going to be too hard to put out.

He advised his girlfriend, Eugene and Marie to leave while he and Bernard went to get the coats and bags. At that stage “it seemed fairly calm and relaxed but people were making their way to the exits”, he said.

As they got to coats he turned around and “very thick black smoke billowed out from where the fire started”. He had difficulty breathing and the lights failed.

Unable to see he ran towards a door with the coats over his head against the smoke. He fell. “I tried on three occasions to get to the door but was overcome on each occasion by smoke. When I was on the ground I found it easier to breathe,” he told the court.

He could feel air “through a gap” indicating he was near a door. He got up and tried to open it “but there was a chain on it ... It wasn’t budging. I was hitting the door with my shoulder and nothing was happening”. He ran at the door and fell.

He came across a number of people “motionless” on the floor. “I ran at it again but the flames were up near the door at this stage. There were droppings from the ceiling like hot wax” and the smoke was overwhelming him.

I then got down beside and eventually this door opened. “I saw the beam of a torch shine in ... I got up and ran towards the beam,” he said.

He got out exit 5, at the side of the dance-floor.

“The fire had scorched the coats at this stage. I burned my nose, two ears, my back and took in a lot of smoke.”

The inquests continue.