A fire expert has told the Stardust inquests that he is unable to determine with any certainty the exact location where the fire started.
Dr Will Hutchinson was giving evidence for a second day at Dublin District Coroner’s Court at the hearings into the deaths of the 48 people who lost their lives in the 1981 Artane disaster.
He told the court that while the fire was first seen in the tiered seating in the west alcove, it does not necessarily mean that was the area where it originated.
He also said he was not discounting that that was where it could have started.
He said it was difficult to say where it precisely started because of “contradictory evidence” mainly from witnesses from outside the club.
The court has previously heard how locals saw flames coming through the roof around the same time the fire was first spotted inside the club.
He also questioned whether the fire started in the ceiling void inside the club.
He said his main difficulty with that suggestion was that there were so many electrical circuits for the lighting there, that if there had been a significant fire in that space, then the lights would have gone out.
He also said there was no significant fire load or fuel in that space.
Dr Hutchinson said he was also unable to determine the area of origin because of the degree of damage that the building sustained.
He said determining the cause of the fire was problematic as he did not know where the fire started.
His evidence continues.
