City hotel evacuated after blaze on Christmas Day
A SUSPECTED arson attack saw 160 guests evacuated from a Coventry hotel on Christmas Day.
The fire took place in a room at the Coventry
Hill Hotel just off the A45 near Allesley at around 10.30pm.
One person staying at the hotel on the same floor as the room where the fire broke out spoke about the drama.
The man, who did not with to be named and is aged in his 70s, said: “Visibility was poor and the corridor quickly became smoke-logged.”
The man, who was staying at the hotel because he was visiting family in Coventry, said he remained at the hotel but admitted he still felt “shaken and shocked” – particularly when he thought about “what could have happened”.
A spokesman for the hotel said all the guests were safely evacuated and that there had been no major damage caused to the hotel. No one was injured and in the aftermath of the fire guests were able to return to their rooms. There were unconfirmed reports on social media the hotel would be closing in the wake of the fire but it seemed to be very much business as usual when Telegraph reporters visited yesterday morning.
The hotel spokesman added that the fire had started in a room and at this stage was being treated as a suspected arson attack.
The Complete Traffic Network Facebook reported that 10 fire appliances had attended the scene, along with five ambulances and a mobile major incident unit.
The hotel had a large number of guests staying who were enjoying a Christmas break with Britannia Hotels.
The chain has three hotels in Coventry – the Coventry Hill Hotel, the Britannia Hotel in the city centre and the Royal Court Hotel on Tamworth Road.
Several Britannia Holidays coaches were outside the hotel on Boxing Day morning.
The hotel spokesman praised Coventry firefighters – describing them as “brilliant”.
Visibility was poor and the corridor quickly became smokelogged. I was shaken and shocked. Hotel guest