Emergency crews responded to a recliner chair on fire in the third story hallway of the Coldwater Hotel this afternoon.
“Occupants of the building used fire extinguishers and removed [the chair] to the outside, on the second storey roof,” Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson said.
Two fire engines, a command vehicle and sixteen firefighters from the Merritt Fire Rescue Department along with three RCMP vehicles and BC Ambulance Service responded to the call, which came in at about 1:40 p.m.
RCMP had the section of Voght Street between Granite Avenue and Quilchena Avenue blocked off while the fire was investigated.
Upon arrival, firefighters made sure the fire was extinguished, and hadn’t extended into the building, which experienced mostly smoke damage from the fire.
No one was injured as a result of this incident.
The fire alarm sounded and the building was evacuated prior to MFRD arrival.
A few people who didn’t exit the building initially, but were told to leave when the fire department arrived, Tomkinson said.
He said when fire alarms sound people should always evacuate a building lest they be caught in a burning building, unbeknownst to firefighters.
The amount of men and vehicles that responded is typical, Tomkinson said, as the Coldwater Hotel is one of Merritt’s older buildings and has a large number of occupants.
The building does have a sprinkler system in place.
Tomkinson said the fire has been deemed suspicious and the RCMP is now looking into the matter.
“There’s no reason to have a fire like that, so the RCMP are investigating,” Tomkinson said.
There are individual suites on the third floor of the Coldwater Hotel, Tomkinson, said and this chair was in the hallway when the fire started.
