Stardust fire ‘was going so fast, way above the normal temperature’, inquests hear

The inquests for the 48 people who died in the Stardust fire hear from emergency services who rushed to the scene

A memorial to the 48 victims at the site of the Stardust fire in Dublin. On Wednesday, the inquests heard that if a fire engine had happened to be passing the Stardust disco hall at the same time people were fleeing the scenes inside, 'it would have made practically no difference the fire was going so fast'. File picture

If a fire engine had happened to be passing the Stardust disco hall in north Dublin at the same time people were fleeing the scenes inside, “it would have made practically no difference the fire was going so fast”, fresh inquests heard on Wednesday.

William McQuaid, who was the third officer attached to Tara Street Fire Station and had joined the fire brigade 20 years previously, described to the jury an accelerated fire that must have had a “terrific temperature” and “way above the normal temperature you’d get in a normal fire”.