Hotel guests, shoppers and patrons of pubs are evacuated as a fire breaks out in a penthouse on St Stephen's Green in Dublin.
At least sixty firemen battled a major blaze on St Stephen's Green. It took twelve units of the Dublin Fire Brigade to get the fire under control. There were no injuries but the area was sealed off and buildings, including the Shelbourne Hotel and O'Donoghues Pub, were evacuated. The fire started at around 7 pm in a penthouse apartment above Huguenot House.
For several hours surrounding streets usually thronged with late night shoppers were closed to pedestrians and traffic.
Acting Chief Fire Officer, Michael Walsh, described how the fire started in the roof and spread. As a precaution, a number of guests in nearby hotels were evacuated and many of them found refuge in the Conrad Hotel. Sharon Ní Bheoláin spoke to some of the guests about what happened. One tourist describes how she could smell smoke and then saw on the television news that a fire had broken out next door. Another guest describes how she was evacuated from the Shelbourne restaurant.
There I was right in the middle of my steak when we had to evacuate.
A honeymoon couple who were enjoying a champagne dinner also had to leave.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 4 July 2002. The reporter is Sharon Ní Bheoláin.
