A former barman at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin has told the inquests into the deaths of the 48 young people that there was no plan in place to help people evacuate the building.
Cormac Rose was a 17-year-old barman at the time of the fire in the early hours of St Valentine's Day in 1981. He had started working as lounge boy at the club in Dublin two years earlier.
The court was told that after he finished work for the night, he sat down with workmates and saw a crowd gathering and thought there might be a row.
He then saw the fire in the back of the area known as the west alcove and saw two colleagues with fire extinguishers trained on the blaze.
He told the court that he ran to get a fire extinguisher from the adjoining Silver Swan bar but as he was returning, was told it was "pointless" and that it was "already out of control".
He described how a manager told him to get out of the building. After putting some cash boxes away, they exited through a cellar door. He told the court today that no customer went with them, and none were invited, he said they "wouldn’t have been familiar with it".
He was asked by Brenda Campbell, KC, representing families of the victims, what happened to the people inside to help them evacuate.
"There was no plan," he said. He said he was never instructed on fire evacuation procedures.
Earlier, Cormac Rose also said there had been "discussions" between management and staff about what to do in the event of an emergency. He said this covered how to respond in the event of armed hold-up.
He also said staff were also told that in the event of a fire to evacuate the building. He said this was more of a "discussion" rather than "training". "It wasn’t formal training," he said, "it wasn’t broken down into detail".
There was brief pause in proceedings today as Cormac Rose became emotional when describing how he helped pull a girl to safety. He agreed that he had never previously given an account of rescuing anyone. "I don’t want to make myself out to be a hero," he said.
He also told the court of a staff meeting later on the Saturday morning of the fire. "I was told to be there", he said.
He said from what he can recall, they were told not to talk to the press and were recommended to give a deposition to the gardaí about what happened.
Responding to questions from Brenda Campbell, KC, he said that he did not give a deposition to Eamon Butterly’s solicitor. "I didn’t sign anything," he said.
He also told the inquests that he overheard two doormen, three weeks before the fire, talking about a change in policy regarding the locking and chaining of the doors.
He later said he did not know what the policy was on the evening of the fire.
The inquests earlier heard from Eddie Farrell who was also in work when the fire broke out.
He said he had received no fire training in the three months he was at the club, and agreed with counsel for the families that people were left to their own devices in the event of a fire.
The inquests continue tomorrow.
