Stardust inquests hear carpet tiles on the walls enabled fire to spread quickly

The inquest has already heard evidence that the fire was first spotted on some seats in a tiered seating area of the north Dublin venue in the early hours before it then reached the walls and rapidly spread throughout the ballroom, witnesses have said. File photo: PA

The fire in the Stardust club which spread quickly and resulted in the deaths of 48 people would have spread “much slower” if it hadn’t interacted with the carpet tiles used on the walls, fresh inquests have heard.

Giving evidence for a third day, Dr Will Hutchinson from fire engineering consultancy Jensen Hughes said that the carpet tiles were made of polyester which “essentially will burn readily once ignited” and can produce “large amounts of black smoke”, as was seen on the night of the fire in February 1981.