Quick action by hotel maintenance staff helped prevent the spread of a fire possibly caused by oily rags in a commercial dryer, according to the Campbell River Fire Department. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters were dispatched shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday after receiving a report of a fire at the Ramada Hotel at 462 South Island Highway, according to Campbell River Fire Chief Thomas Doherty.
“Initial report was that the fire was in the laundry room on the first floor in the building at the rear of the property,” he said in an email. “When crews arrived, smoke was visible from one of the three-storey buildings, (and) occupants in the building had evacuated.”
READ MORE: Pile of wood mulch ‘spontaneously combusts’ in North Campbell River
READ MORE: Shrapnel narrowly missed firefighters in ‘suspicious’ Campbell River house fire
Firefighters made a quick entry and put out the fire, containing it to the laundry room, he said. A number of units were filled with smoke, so crews ventilated the building and checked carbon monoxide levels before people were allowed to return.
CR firefighters contain fire to laundry room in hotel this morning. pic.twitter.com/3B5yIDO0dj
— Campbell River Fire (@RiverCityFire) August 26, 2019
Hotel maintenance staff kept the fire from spreading by using “multiple portable fire extinguishers,” he said, adding that damage was isolated to a single commercial dryer.
“The fire appears to have started inside one of the commercial dryers, (and) staff on site indicated there may have been oily rags that were washed and placed in the dryer,” he said.
@davidgordonkochdavid.koch@campbellrivermirror.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter