AN INQUEST JURY has heard that the Stardust nightclub was deemed a “pretty horrendous” fire risk by an insurance company’s fire surveyor, who noticed that “highly combustible” foam insulation was used in the construction of a room in the building. The Dublin District Coroner’s Court today heard the evidence of Richard Williams, during the inquest into the blaze that killed 48 young people when it swept through the Stardust in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 1981.
In his original statement, which was read into the record by the court registrar, Mr Williams said he worked with Hibernian Insurance from 1961 to 1997. Until 1981, he was in underwriting. He said that in 1979, he was asked to quote for fire insurance on the Stardust, and after reading a fire survey on the premises, he declined to quote. In 1981, he was appointed a fire surveyor, and he was sent out to survey the property on behalf of an insurance company. “I duly reported on the fire risk, which I deemed as pretty horrendous and recommended that we did not quote, so it was turned down again,” he sai