Blaze breaks out in laundry room
CITY HOTEL EVACUATED
GUESTS evacuated from a Newcastle hotel in the middle of the night have praised the staff who got them out safely.
Around 250 people were evacuated from Hotel Indigo in Fenkle Street yesterday morning after a fire broke out in the laundry room.
Three fire engines were called just after midnight after a tumble dryer caught fire.
Among the evacuated guests was Dr Lucy Rodgers known as one of the judges on BBC’s Robot Wars.
Dr Rodgers is staying in Newcastle for the Maker Faire event at the Centre for Life this weekend.
She tweeted: “Newcastle night life a little more exciting than I was after. Fire in the hotel”
She then added: “I am impressed at the speed with which the fire in this hotel was detected, and dealt with.
“Fire crews and hotel staff did a great job. Worth every false alarm I’ve ever had to go outside in the cold for. Everyone safe and back in hotel.”
Rachel Lawler filmed guests standing in the street while a fire engine went past but praised the hotel.
She tweeted just before 1.30am: “Well, that was unexpected. Everyone’s safe and the @hotelindigo team have handled it like pros. Ready to get back to sleep now though.”
She added this morning: “Just glad everyone was safe, think I’ll need a few coffees this morning.”
ITV Border Reporter Charlotte Briere was also staying in the hotel when it was evacuated.
She posted on Twitter: “Lots of peo- ple just standing on the street in dressing gowns being offered tin foil blankets.”
Hotel guests wearing pyjamas and dressing gowns were given tin foil blankets to keep warm as firefighters used two jets to extinguish the flames.
They were then allowed back into the lobby at around 1am before returning to their rooms later in the morning.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service say the laundry room and its contents were completely destroyed in the fire, with light smoke damage to some ground floor rooms.
Due to a swift evacuation by hotel staff, nobody was left inside the building when fire crews arrived.
Firefighters left the hotel at 2.30am.