Stardust Fire - The Incident

The Incident

The fire was said to have started on a balcony inside the building, although since the tragedy some evidence has suggested that the fire derived from an electrical fault in the roof space, next to a storage room containing dangerously flammable materials. Staff attempted to extinguish it and failed; they then tried to contain it by closing the door leading to the balcony and ordering the users of a private room to evacuate. Guests in other parts of the nightclub were not informed, nor was an alarm sounded.

The fire was first spotted in a seating area in the west section of the building, although the fire was only very small when first seen, 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 quickly spread into the main area of the club causing the lights to fail. This caused mass panic as patrons began desperately looking for an escape.

The attendees at both the disco and a trade union function taking place in the same building tried to make their escape but were hampered by a number of obstructions. Some of the main fire exits turned out to be locked with padlocks and chains. Other fire exits simply had chains draped about the push bars.

The failure of the lighting in the club led to widespread panic causing mass trampling as many of the patrons instinctively ran for the main entrance. Many people mistook the entrance to the men's toilets for the main entrance doors but the windows there had metal plates fixed on the inside and iron bars on the outside. Firemen attempted in vain to pull off the metal bars using a chain attached to a fire engine. Firemen rescued between 25-30 of those trapped in the front toilets. Seven people died in the toilets at the other side of the building while the Dublin Fire Brigade were attempting to rescue them.

Many of those who had made it to safety became increasingly aggressive from knowing that their friends were still trapped inside, some taking their anger out on emergency services: at one point a fireman searching for a hydrant down the street was thought to be fleeing the fire and was assaulted by bystanders.

Ambulances from Dublin Fire Brigade, the Eastern Health Board, Dublin Civil Defence, the Red Cross and other organizations were dispatched to the scene. Many left the scene carrying up to 15 casualties. CIE also sent buses to transport the injured, and local radio stations asked people in the vicinity with cars to come to the club. The city's hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of wounded and dying, in particular the Mater, Jervis Street and Dr Steevens' Hospitals.

The investigation at the time reported that the fire was an arson. The finding of arson has recently been ruled out by investigators, as there was never any evidence to support the "arson" finding, even at the time of the tragedy.