The question of whether an electrical fault in the Stardust nightclub, where 48 people aged 16-27 died in an inferno in 1981, caused the blaze will be examined by fire experts at Dublin coroner’s court in the coming days.
Forensic scientist and fire investigator Dr Will Hutchinson, beginning his evidence on Monday at inquests into the deaths of the 48 at the north Dublin nightclub in the early hours of February 14th, 1981, also gave, for the first time at these inquests, expert opinion stating several emergency exits were “not open” during the early stages of the fire and one had possibly been “locked”.
Having attended more than 1,500 fire scenes, including industrial premises and nightclubs in a 23-year career, the witness said his instructions were to address nine questions.
These are: the circumstances leading to the fire including the actions of management and employees on the night; where and how the fire started and its cause; how and why the fire progressed; the response to the fire by Stardust management and employees; the response of emergency services; building design, safety and means of escape; prior inspections, maintenance and responses to warnings; whether some of those who died might have been saved by different actions before or on the night; and a review of earlier expert reports.
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Engaged by coroner Dr Myra Cullinane, Dr Hutchinson reviewed more than 1,400 Garda statements taken in 1981, as well as photographs of the aftermath of the blaze, maps of the building, transcripts from the 1981 tribunal of inquiry chaired by Mr Justice Ronan Keane, and numerous expert reports published then and since.
Burn patterns on the six designated exits showed which doors had been open early and which remained closed. Exits one and six appeared undamaged indicating they had been open in the early stages of the blaze, he said.
The main exit, known as exit 2, and “favoured by majority of patrons to get out” however sustained “some damage”, suggesting they were “not immediately open or were closed at some stage”.
Exit 3, behind the backstage area, had a bolt damaged, “bent at the bottom, indicating someone had to force those doors open with the bolt in place, to cause that deformation to the bolt, causing it to bend out”, said Dr Hutchinson. “It had either been previously damaged or the door was locked and unopenable at the time of the fire and had to be forced”.
The DJ’s van was parked, its rear immediately flush with steps outside the doors. “If that van was parked in that position it would certainly make exiting away from the building more difficult, and potentially result in a build-up of people trying to escape.”
One of the two leaves of exit four, off the dance floor, was “relatively undamaged” while the other was “badly damaged”.
“So I would assume that door was not open from an early stage of the fire,” said the witness. The inquests have heard stacked chairs blocked access to this exit, delaying escape.
At exit five, also off the dance floor, both door leaves were fire-damaged, indicating neither was open during the early stages of the fire.
Seats in the Stardust’s north and west alcoves were padded with polyurethane foam. From the early 1980s it was beginning to be recognised as a flammable material that produced toxic smoke. However, there was no legislation to prevent its use in furnishings. By 1988 its use in furnishings was controlled in legislation and from then household fire deaths “declined rapidly”.
Carpet tiles used to line internal walls, he said, were rated for flammability when used horizontally on floors. When used vertically, the fire dynamics change, he said.
“Once a fire is on these tiles it will race upwards because the fire, as it grows, is heating the fibres that are higher up and making those polyester fibres ready, more susceptible to flame.”
During a detailed exposition of the electrical and heating systems in the Stardust, Dr Hutchison said there were electrical outlets in the west alcove, where the fire was first seen inside the venue. It would “come under more scrutiny in my presentation when we consider whether or not a fire could have originated from an electrical fault in the west alcove”, he said.
The inquests continue.
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