Investigations underway after fire destroys the Nirvana head shop and Utopia sex shop in Dublin.
Dublin Fire Brigade fought a fire which broke out at the Nirvana head shop in Capel Street and spread to the adjoining Utopia sex shop. David Kavanagh of Dublin Fire Brigade says they were called to the scene at 6:30 am and at that stage the fire had intensified.
Residents living in apartments in the adjoining four-storey building were evacuated. Donal Mooney, who lives on the top-floor recalls hearing an explosion similar to a petrol tank blowing up.
Initially there was a flash and then you could hear the crackling of fire.
The head shop was contentious especially since it began selling legal highs through a hatch onto the street into the early hours of the morning.
Landlord Paddy Reilly says his tenants complained that,
The street had got very rowdy and those shops opened very late at night, up to four o’clock in the morning and there was a rowdy element and they were feeling quite unsafe going back to their apartment at night-time.
An Garda Siochána are investigating the cause of the incident.
An RTÉ New report broadcast on 12 February 2010. The reporter is John Kilraine.
