FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A car in the parking garage of a Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel caught fire Friday morning, prompting crews to evacuate the building.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan, crews responded to the Conrad Hotel at 551 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. just before 7:30 a.m. When they arrived, they located the burning car on the fifth floor of the parking garage.
“This isn’t your basic car fire because it’s located inside of a commercial structure that’s occupied by hundreds of people,” said Fort Lauderdale Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan.
The fire was eventually extinguished, but the amount of smoke led the hotel staff and crews to clear the rooms as a precaution.
“There was a really loud fire alarm and then a message to evacuate the building,” she said. “‘This is not a drill. Please evacuate the building,'”
7Skyforce flew over the scene, where guests and hotel staff could be seen standing outside along A1A.
“There was a lot of smoke, and I saw a lot of people just covering up,” said an unnamed woman, “but that was ’cause I was on the sixth floor where it happened.”
“The hotel staff was in the process of evacuating the building at the time of our arrival,” said Gollan. “Due to their efforts, there were no injuries reported.”
“It was very scary because we didn’t know who was still in the building, who was out of the building,” said the unnamed woman.
Tourist Ari Fischman was visiting the area when the fire began.
“The fire trucks just started showing up and people coming out,” said Fischman. “They brought out water. They were really nice.”
The hotel released a statement that read, “Conrad Fort Lauderdale can confirm that a car fire in the garage at the hotel has been contained and extinguished. Guests and Team Members were successfully evacuated from the premises. The well being, safety and security of our guests is of paramount importance. The hotel continues to make every effort to ensure all practices and standards are in line with strict safety and security regulations.”
Guests were allowed back into the hotel about 45 minutes after crews responded.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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