Ryan ChartrandA small fire broke out at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Madonna Road early Monday morning, causing the fire alarm and sprinkler system to go off. No one was injured.
“The fire started in the laundry room when a commercial dryer overheated,” said Tim Billing, the hotel’s general manager.
The San Luis Obispo City Fire Department sent 14 personnel and four fire trucks to the scene at about 1:10 a..m., according to the press release issued by the department.
The firefighters found that the sprinkler system just above the dryer had been activated, which held the fire in check until the firefighters could completely extinguish flames in the dryer, according to the press release.
“Our fire system works on only the space that is on fire,” Billing said. “The doors to the public area were closed off immediately when the alarm sounded and the sprinklers went off.”
The damage was minimal, Billing said. “There was a little water on the floor that I mopped up when I got here, but that was pretty easy.”
Though Billing stated the damage was small, the fire department estimated $10,000 worth of damage in the press release.
“The guests were evacuated and nobody was hurt,” he said. “They were outside for about half an hour, but that is about normal for a small incident like this.”
According to the press release, the firefighters were at the hotel for about an hour. The guests were allowed back into the building shortly thereafter.
“The only problem with what happened is that it can challenge the guests’ pleasure,” Billing said. “However, most of the time, guests are very understanding.”
Usually, guests just want to make sure they will be all right, he added. “As long as they are safe, they don’t have too many complaints – even with false alarms.”
Billing said that the hotel makes sure that the guests are as comfortable as possible no matter what the circumstances.
“We offer them complimentary breakfast and evening snacks, so they are pretty well taken care of and understand when things happen that are out of our control,” he added.
Billing said that the guests’ safety is the Embassy Suite’s No. 1 priority.
“Everything ended fine because all the guests were safe and not too much damage was done, just a few small parts will fix the appliance and the other one is working fine,” Billing said. “That’s what fire alarms are for, right?”