Sunday, January 01, 2006

A toaster caught fire in a Fremont Street hotel diner during the lunch hour on New Year's Day, causing the evacuation of the restaurant. The restaurant will remain closed until Clark County Health District inspectors determine that the food in the restaurant was not affected. There was minimal damage from the fire.

Firefighters responded to the Bay City Diner located along Main Street, which is inside the Golden Gate Hotel/Casino at 1 Fremont Street, at 11:57 a.m. New Year's Day after hotel security reported that smoke was showing from the roof of the four story hotel. When firefighters arrived, they discovered the smoke was coming from a roof vent that was connected to the Bay City Diner located on the ground floor. Firefighters found that a toaster had caught fire inside the restaurant, with heat causing accumulated grease inside the vent ductwork to ignite. A fire extinguisher used by restaurant employees put the toaster fire out before the arrival of the fire department, and another extinguisher was used by firefighters to extinguish the fire inside the vent ductwork. While this was in operation, the restaurant was closed, and will remain closed until the health district determines it is safe to reopen.

There was minimal damage from the fire and no one was injured during the incident.

Huge blaze wrecks disused hotel
Tuesday, 21 February 2006

Fire engulfed the disused hotel in the early hours of the morning
A disused hotel in West Sussex has been left badly damaged after a huge fire engulfed the two-storey building.
More than 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Cranfield Lodge Hotel, in Maypole Road, East Grinstead.

No one was inside the building. Fire crews were pulled back from the blaze when the roof collapsed and it was judged too dangerous to continue.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was being investigated. Arson was not ruled out.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 2300 GMT on Monday.

Embers danger

The first crews to arrive said they were faced with thick smoke coming from the building, but there was no obvious sign as to where the fire had started.

Shortly afterwards the fire broke out through the roof, which then collapsed and the fire quickly spread to the ground floor.

Neighbour Tristan Jones said his wife took their children to the hospital where she worked for safety.

"With the wind coming across the property, embers were falling on to our house as well, which the fire service decided to damp down," he said.

"It was very dangerous at its height."

Demolition work on the remains of the hotel was started on Tuesday afternoon.

Two arrested following hotel fire

West Bend hote fire

March 4, 2006

A lamp knocked over during a domestic dispute that occurred at a West Bend hotel suite rented out to five people from South Milwaukee Friday morning resulted in minor damage to the room, and the arrest of the two people involved in the dispute.
According to West Bend Fire Department Battalion Chief John Spartz, a fire alarm was activated at the Clairemont Inn & Meeting Center, 2520 W. Washington St., at approximately 6:09 a.m. When firefighters arrived, Spartz said, the fire had been extinguished by one of the five people in the "theme" suite. During an ensuing police investigation, said Sgt. Gus Unertl, a police department spokesman, it was discovered that two of the five people were involved in a physical altercation, knocked over the lamp, in turn causing some drapes to catch fire. A participant in the dispute, 41-year-old James Erie, put the fire out, sustaining burns to his hands. He was taken to SynergyHealth St. Joseph’s Hospital for treatment.

He was later jailed on charges of domestic abuse/disorderly conduct, as was 43-year-old Amanda Sutton.

There was drug paraphernalia found in the room, Unertl said, although no further charges are being contemplated at this time. The three other people in the party were questioned but released, he said.

Damage was estimated at around $500, Spartz said.

March 5, 2006

DENVER -- Arson investigators are trying to determine what started a motel fire on East Colfax Avenue Sunday night that sent one person to the hospital.

The fire broke out at about 9:30 p.m. at the Royal Host Motel at 930 East Colfax Avenue.

Firefighters believe the blaze started in a second-floor room where two men were staying. Witnesses said that the flames engulfed the side of the motel within minutes.

"As the flames started to get bigger, my boyfriend ran to help management get people out because people were still in their rooms and had no idea," said witness Merrian Johnson. One man was transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

The Red Cross was called in to help those staying at the motel.

The fire damaged one unit and a few others had water damage, according to fire officials. Seven rooms on the second floor were closed. People staying in rooms on other floors were allowed to return early Monday morning.

The case was brought by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Llandudno magistrates heard that two people were rescued from the roof but no-one was injured.

The fire last Easter weekend had started due to an electrical fault.

The court heard that one man had to kick his way through a fire door, because a wheelie bin was wedged against it.

Another escape route was blocked by a single bed, the court heard.

Mitchell was fined £3,000 for each offence with £6,000 costs.

He also admitted not keeping escape routes clear, not keeping logs of fire drills and failing to train staff.

Speaking after the case, the rescue service's safety manager Alyn Edwards said he hoped it would send a message to businesses about the importance of fire safety particularly with even tougher laws coming in the autumn.

"It could have quite easily have been a different ending to the story and we could have been looking at two fatalities," he said.