Stardust fire
Butterly Business Park, where the former Stardust building was. The Butterly family never fully demolished the outside front facade of the building.
|
|
| Date | February 14, 1981 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Stardust nightclub |
| Location | Artane, Dublin, Ireland |
| Type | Fire |
| Deaths | 48 |
The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. Some 841 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injured as a result of the fire. The club was located where Butterly Business Park now lies, opposite Artane Castle Shopping Centre.
The West alcove banked seating area had enough seats to fit at least 280 patrons.
The fire was started in a first floor store room inside the building that was open to the roofspace. The fire outbreak derived from an electrical fault in the room beside the roof space. This non Planning compliant first floor storage room contained dangerously flammable materials including 45x5 gallon drums of cooking oil. (See 2009 Coffey Report witness) Staff observed a small fire outbreak on a seat in an alcove behind a curtain and they attempted to extinguish it but failed. The fire apparently started after fire on the roof from the storeroom came through the roof tiles and fell on to the backrest and the top of a seating bench covered in PVC coated polyester fabric. It was first observed by a lady who was sitting in front of the West Alcove banked seating area. She noticed an increase in temperature but did not smell smoke. The fire then spread to tables and chairs and patrons noticed smoke and smelled burning. The DJ announced that there was a small fire and requested a calm evacuation. A man by coincidence was making a phone call to the Gardaí at Dublin castle at 1:42:
". . . . Hello, yes, hello. I'm at the Stardust disco (01.42) Can you hear me? .... yes. And my girl-friend's handbag was robbed .... Your girl-friend's handbag was robbed? She's the Manageress in the Shoe Shop in Northside Shopping Centre. .... Wait now would you .... Stardust Yes, I'm in the Stardust disco, discotheque, and my girl-friend's bag went missing, someone's after taking it. Can you hear me? .... yes. Can you hear me? .... And where were you .... where were .... the Guards, where will you meet the Guards? Pardon? What's your name . . . what is your name? Hello? (Screams in background, caller hung up)". A waitress, Mrs Elizabeth Prizeman shouted to a doorman Leo Doyle, "Leo, there is a fire inside". He and his colleagues went to fight the fire.
The fire was first spotted by a lady 200 metres away from the Stardust as well as numerous external witnesses and she called the Fire Brigade. Within the same minute of her call, two other calls were made from the Stardust building to tell the Fire Brigade that there was a small fire 6 inches high on a seat in the Ballroom in a seating area in the west section of the building. The fire was only very small when first seen in the Ballroom. Within 2 minutes a ferocious burst of heat and lots of thick black smoke quickly started coming from the ceiling, causing the material in the ceiling to melt and drip on top of patrons and other highly flammable materials including the seats and carpet tiles on the walls. The fire flashover enveloped the club and the lights failed. This caused mass panic as patrons began desperately looking for an escape.
...
Wikipedia