DAVID Lauwers was a homeless man known as Deaf Dave who lit a fire that killed 11 men in an adult cinema.
The terrifying incident will be examined in crime documentary The Real Manhunter: The Dream City Cinema Club Fire.
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Lauwers horrific act
Lauwers was a deaf, homeless man who frequented the Dream City adult cinema in Clerkenwell, London.
The cinema was operating illegally because of the pornographic films it screened, which meant it had no fire-safety provisions.
On February 26, 1994, Lauwers was ejected by a doorman after he was unable to pay the entry fee.
He was trying to enter the cinema for the second time that day and did not want to pay the entrance fee for a second time.
Furious at being removed from the club, Lauwers returned with a can of petrol and set fire to the building’s entrance.
The fire spread rapidly and trapped most of the staff and customers inside.
The heroic Fire Brigade
At the time, a fire station commander named Ken Emsley said: “It was a horrific incident.
“The worst I have experienced in my 30 years in the service.
“It was absolutely chaotic.
“We were working under extreme conditions, with so many people trying to get out of the building.”
Eight men died at the scene, one from jumping out of a high window and seven others from smoke inhalation.
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Three more men died at hospital from their injuries and thirteen other people were hurt in the terrifying incident.
None of the victims were named in the incident and little is known about their personal lives, other than the fact that they were all men.
It took four hours for the fire brigade to bring the blaze under control and locate the people who had died in the fire.
Thanks to their efforts, twenty-one people were saved from the blazing building.
Islington Council also began to license adult cinemas in the area, so fire provisions would be implemented in the theatres.
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Life in prison
When he learned of the horrific event that he had caused, Lauwers turned himself in to Walthamstow Police Station.
He was cleared of three murder charges at the Old Bailey, but was convicted of manslaughter.
On March 27, 1995, he was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 10 years.
However, Lauwers never saw freedom as he died in prison on February 26, 2001, from a heart attack.
Lauwers’ crime will be examined in The Real Manhunter: The Dream City Cinema Club Fire, which will air on Sky Crime on November 26, 2024.
Viewers can catch the show at 6pm.
