The Stardust inquests have heard how those trapped in the burning building splashed water from the toilets onto their faces as the smoke and heat grew more intense. Deirdre Dames, a survivor, shared her experience in court.
The Stardust inquests have heard how those trapped in the burning building splashed water from the toilets onto their faces as the smoke and heat grew more intense. The hearings, at Dublin District Coroner's Court , continued today, on day 75 of the proceedings. Forty-eight people died when a fire swept through the nightclub in Artane, Dublin, in the early hours of 14 February, 1981. Deirdre Dames, who was 18 at the time of the fire.
, told the court how in the commotion, she ended up crawling into the ladies’ toilets where there were two others present. "You couldn’t see, you couldn’t breathe," she said. She told the court how they tried to put water on their faces, and at one point she put her head down the toilet to get relief. Ms Dames said that was getting weak and she vomited. She said she kept saying to get the windows open and told the inquests she could hear screaming from those on the outside saying,"Jesus, get them out". "But they couldn’t do anything for us," she said. Ms Dames said she remembered the steel plates"and the bars" that covered the window
Stardust Inquests Trapped Burning Building Toilet Water Survivor Court