Smoked out

Guests forced to evacuate Rodd Royalty after smoke fills building from electrical box malfunction

The Rodd Royalty hotel was evacuated Monday as smoke filled the main building.

Charlottetown Fire Services station two responded just after 8:30 p.m.

“When we arrived there was a small electrical fire in one of the electrical panels in the utility room,” said Tim Mayme, deputy fire chief of the department.

“It looks like there might have been a small water leak into (the panel),” said Mayme.

Hotel staff had doused the panel, located in the basement of the two-storey structure, with a fire extinguisher, but smoke remained throughout the building. The main power was cut and fans were brought in to try to rid smoke from all three levels of the building, said Mayme.

Guests left the hotel when the fire alarms began sounding. Some were later escorted by firefighters with flashlights back into the building to get their belongings.

Some guests were relocated to the adjacent motel units on the property; other guests were taken to the Rodd Charlottetown in the city’s downtown where about 12 rooms were made available.

“Electricians are in to look at the damage that was done to the panel to see if it is safe to turn on any power source at all,” said Mayme at the scene at 10:30 p.m. “Our fire inspector is down there with them now and once they verify how much damage was done to the panel and how much they can re-energize, we will begin a full inspection.”

NIGEL ARMSTRONG/THE GUARDIAN Firefighters are shown outside the Rodd Royalty on Monday evening after responding to a call to the building, which is located on Capital Drive in Charlottetown. Twenty-five rooms were evacuated.