Courts / Dublin / Report
Stardust worker tells inquest she never received fire training
Summary
During the 2023 inquest into the 1981 Stardust fire, Edward McNamee, a 16‑year‑old washer‑up, recounted seeing flames creep along the wall like a mushroom and using his bike lamp to help an assistant manager locate keys to a steel exit door. He described the fire spreading from a chair's back to the carpeted wall and ceiling tiles. McNamee also noted a bouncer's attempts to open exits and the absence of any fire drill in the nine months he worked. Liz Marley, then 18, testified that she saw smoke and flames behind a shutter, shouted about a fire in the left balcony, and handed fire extinguishers to staff, yet she had never received fire training. An architectural draftsman, Harold Gardner, was read as saying the owner was uninterested in a sprinkler system despite a planning condition, and that carpet tiles and foam seats were not specified as fire‑resistant.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Stardust worker tells inquest she never received fire training. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- February 14, 1981 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2023-06-14 Publication
Why: A witness who was working in the Stardust on the night of the blaze has told an inquest of how he saw the flames "creep out along the wall like a mushroom", and how he had to use his bike lamp to help an assistant manager find a set of keys to open a locked door in order to exit. CNI source report
Places mentioned
- Rotunda Hospital
Topics
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