The Stardust inquests have heard harrowing evidence from members of the Dublin Fire Brigade who attended the scene of the blaze and who undertook the rescue and recovery operation.
48 people were killed when a fire swept through the Artane nightclub in the early hours of 14 February 1981.
Today, officers from the emergency services who responded to the disaster began giving evidence at the Dublin District Coroner's Court which heard how the first 999 call was received at 1.43am.
Giving direct evidence today was Dermot Dowdall who was a 26-year firefighter at the time of the disaster.
He was driving an ambulance on the night and said he arrived at around 1.49am. He said the fire was "very intense" and "very fast" and had gone through the roof, and had largely vented itself when he arrived.
"I would regard the fire as being out at that stage. The fire essentially reached its peak very, very quickly before a brigade ever got there."
He said all the damage was done in five minutes, the roof was gone, and the fire had escaped through it.
On arrival, he was told to bring the some of the injured to hospital.
"They were severely burnt," he said, at one point adding there "was skin on the ambulance window."
He said there were a number of people in his ambulance and there were people standing upright inside.
He also described being in the control room and receiving a phone call from fireman John Fitzsimons who was in the club at the time working as a doorman.
Dermot Dowdall said John Fitzsimons conveyed the seriousness of the situation and told him "we could lose up to 200 people here tonight."
He said he could hear the "chaos" in the background and said John Fitzsimons was emphasising the level of distress and said it was a "district call" which meant it was a serious fire.
As a result, Dermot Dowdall said today the response from the fire brigade was as high as it could be on the night.
"We were fully aware of what we were going to, we’d no allusions," he said, adding "as we came within a mile, you could see the glow of it."
He told the court when he arrived back to the scene from the hospital, he worked to remove the casualties and find bodies.
He said some were "fused together" and described it as 'gruesome work".
He also described a group of deceased who were in a "huddle" and described the bodies as being like they were "welded together".
He said their reaction would have been to get their heads down and grab onto each other.
The inquests also heard today from Patrick Hobbs, a former officer who at the time had over 15 years experience in the fire brigade.
The court heard how he said people were "panic-stricken" when he and colleagues got to the scene.
He described looking into the ballroom through an exit door, saying it was "an inferno".
He said such was the intensity of the fire, no immediate entry would be made.
The court heard how later he entered the building and help rescue "five or six" people who were trapped in the toilets.
"They were in shock, and in an awful state," he said in court today.
He said when he initially went in, there were flames but "not as intense".
He agreed with counsel for the families that the only people capable of being rescued were those who had found shelter in the toilets and the situation in the ballroom was such that it was incompatible with life.
The court also heard how he noticed a "distinctive smell" in the west alcove that night in the aftermath of the fire.
Later former firefighter Noel Hosback described how he climbed through a window and kicked in the door of the ladies’ toilets searching for those trapped. He discovered three people.
"They were very scared", he said and were "kneeling on the floor".
The court heard how one of them he saved was Deirdre Dames who was in court today. After proceedings ended this evening, the pair hugged.
Earlier in the day, families of victims who were either in court or watching online were advised by the coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, that the evidence they would be graphic and upsetting.
Today marked the start of a new, third phase of these inquests and will deal with how the emergency services, including the fire brigade, gardaí and ambulance staff responded.
The first module of the proceedings heard from staff and management of the club and was followed by the evidence of patrons who were there on the night and escaped.
These fresh inquests, which began last April, are now on day 85 of the proceedings.
