Trinity College lab fire sparks Dublin city centre traffic chaos as building closed off

A laboratory fire at Trinity College Dublin’s Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute triggered a major emergency response on Pearse Street on Wednesday and caused disruption in Dublin city centre.

Dublin Fire Brigade was called to the scene shortly before 10:30 a.m. and the fire was later declared under control at 12:57 p.m., according to the reporting. By about 1:15 p.m., the incident had been scaled back, although some emergency units were still on scene.

Trinity said there were no injuries and that no teaching was taking place in the building on the day of the fire. The college also said there was currently no access to the building for safety reasons.

Gardaí assisted with traffic management as road control measures were put in place around the busy city-centre campus site. The disruption affected motorists and other road users in the Pearse Street area, where the research building sits.

The Sun reported that five fire engines, an emergency tender, a hazardous-materials unit and an ambulance attended the scene.

Emergency response

The fire service response began in the late morning and quickly became a wider city-centre disruption story because of the location of the building and the need to manage traffic around the area.

Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute is a key research building on Pearse Street, so any access restriction has immediate consequences for staff and building users as well as for local traffic.

What happens next

The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed publicly. Damage inside the building has also not been detailed, and Trinity has not said when access will be restored.

Follow-up statements from Trinity College Dublin or Dublin Fire Brigade are likely to focus on the cause, any damage assessment and when the building can reopen.