VAIL, CO A fire burned for nearly six hours on last Saturday night, forcing the evacuation of scores of guests at a 350-room Vail Marriott Mountain Resort before being contained early Sunday, the authorities said.
Two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation or exhaustion. Damage was estimated at $20 million.
“We were overwhelmed by the fire,” Chief Gulick said. “The Vail Fire Department could not have handled it alone. Had the east stairwell fire standpipe not been frozen, we could have handled the fire quicker and reduced the amount of damage.”
The temperature was 12 degrees.
The three-building hotel, which had opened for the ski season on Wednesday, had about 50% occupancy at the time of the fire. David Shahriari, general manager of the hotel, said 116 rooms were lost on the fifth and sixth floors of one building, which housed 86 guests before the fire.
The guests who were evacuated were moved to the undamaged buildings or to other hotels. (11/22/00)
Source: The Associated Press