There was clear evidence the inferno at the Stardust nightclub in 1981, which killed 48 people, started in a hot press, spread to the roof space, melting plastics and polystyrene materials there that dripped into the venue and started more fire, and “no evidence” of arson, a forensic fire investigator agreed at Dublin Coroner’s Court on Thursday.
Dr Will Hutchinson, giving evidence for a fourth day on day-104 of fresh inquests into the deaths of the 48, aged 16 to 27, in a fire at the north Dublin ballroom in the early hours of February 14th 1981, appeared to revise aspects of his previous testimony.
Following a day of questioning by Sean Guerin SC for families of nine of the dead, Dr Hutchinson, who is retained by coroner Dr Myra Cullinane, agreed there was a “a detailed evidential basis” to indicate the fire started in a hot-press cabinet in the main bar, on the other side of a wall between the bar and tiered seating known as the West alcove.
He has said from the outset it was “possible” the fire stated in the hot-press and “probable” that it was caused by the resistive electrical fault.
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In earlier testimony however, he had dismissed the roof-space as a location where fire started or fire grew before being seen inside the venue. Having reviewed scientific evidence made available to him, he had said there was “no evidence” of significant combustible material in the ceiling void to support a fire.
He had also favoured the “physical evidence” over numerous testimonies from witnesses outside the Stardust of seeing well-established flames venting through the roof at or before the time a small fire was first observed inside.
On Thursday Mr Guerin put the detailed testimony of four witnesses who had said they had seen flames through the roof at specific times at the same time, or before, fire was first seen inside the club.
“If the jury are satisfied that the timing of at least some of the neighbours is correct and they observed a fire in the roof space before the fire was noted in the West alcove, it can’t have been the same fire because that was a small fire when it was first seen?”
“Correct,” replied Dr Hutchinson.
“And so there must have been sufficient fuel in the roof space to fuel a fire on its own?”
“Yes .. Your theory is sound.”
Mr Guerin had earlier set out testimony, heard in June, from a former insulation sales representative Fiacre Mulholland who said he had seen expanded polystyrene, known as Polyzote, used in the Stardust in 1978 to insulate heating ducts in the ceiling void.
“I remember immediately after the fire survivors interviewed mentioning that the ceiling was dripping. I am familiar with mineral-fibre ceiling tiles and I know they do not melt.
”I don’t remember making the connection at the time but afterwards I realised the polystyrene insulation around the ducts was most likely the cause of the dripping ceiling as polystyrene has a low flash point, is highly flammable and melts when it catches fire,” Mr Mulholland said in June. He had not given a Garda statement before his June appearance.
On Thursday Dr Hutchinson agreed Polyzote was not mentioned in any of the 1981 technical reports. It appeared “no one was actually looking for it”.
“You can only find what you’re looking for,” said Mr Guerin.
“If you are not aware of what you are looking for I agree it could make detecting that difficult,” said Dr Hutchinson. There was “no evidence” to contradict Mr Mulholland’s testimony, he added.
Mr Guerin later put testimony heard in October from Kenneth Strong, a 19-year-old patron on the night, who had described seeing “something that was on fire ..dripping [and] falling from the ceiling”.
“I want to suggest to you that that is exactly what Mr Strong saw,” said Mr Guerin. “[He] suggested at a relatively early stage in the fire before it had engaged the ceiling, or the wall tiles, there was falling, burning plastic material on to the seats which was causing the seats to ignite.”
Mr Guerin continued, asking whether it was “scientifically sound” to hypothesise that there was “ignition in the hot-press and mechanism for the transfer of flame into the roof space, over the West alcove.
“There is a presence of readily ignitable material which would burn, which would both explain dripping of molten material in the West alcove [and fire being observed through the roof outside]?”
“Yes,” replied the witness.
And there was “no evidence” of “deliberate ignition” in either the roof or the West alcove.
“Yes, that’s right,” said Dr Hutchinson.
The inquests continue.
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