Four fire engines, ambulances and police rushed to the Radisson Blu Hotel on Old Hall Street after a fire broke out behind the building on March 26
A fire at the rear of a city centre hotel resulted in plumes of smoke billowing into the air. The blaze erupted behind the Radisson Blu Hotel on Old Hall Street this evening, 26 March.
Guests and staff at the Radisson Blu poured onto the street as fire alarms were triggered, congregating outside as emergency services rushed to the scene. Four fire engines, police cars, numerous ambulances and rapid response vehicles, as well as two NHS Incident Response Units, arrived at the street around 8.30pm, reports the Liverpool Echo..
The back of the hotel was cordoned off as firefighters tackled the blaze, which seemed to have ignited in a wheelie bin near a set of stairs.
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One female Radisson Blu guest, clad only in a short-sleeved T-shirt and leggings, said: “The smoke somehow got inside and the alarms were all going off. They tried to turn it off but they couldn’t get it off, so everybody’s out here now in the cold.
“I think we’ve been out now more than an hour. I don’t know what they are doing.”
“I was sleeping when I heard the alarm. I didn’t take my phone, my jacket, even my socks. I was just running all the way down.”
Other guests returned to the hotel after spending time in the city centre, only to discover the street swarming with police and paramedics. One man said: “As we came around it was a bit of a shock. We could smell something burning in the air.”
Photographs taken at the scene depicted flames and smoke emanating from the rear of the hotel. Additional images showed firefighters amidst a number of fire-damaged wheelie bins, situated behind the hotel off King Edward Street.
One end of Old Hall Street, at the junction of Leeds Street, King Edward Street and Great Howard Street, was cordoned off by police. Brook Street near HM Passport Office was also obstructed by fire engines responding to the incident.
All ambulances had departed the scene by approximately 9.20pm. Radisson Blu guests and staff were permitted to re-enter the hotel at around 9.30pm, and Old Hall Street was reopened to traffic.
Two police cars and several fire engines remained on site. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was contacted for comment.
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