Andrew Dawkinsin Birmingham and
Clare Lissaman
BBCFour people have been treated for smoke inhalation after a Premier Inn hotel was evacuated during a city centre blaze, the fire service said.
More than 60 firefighters went to New Street, Birmingham, after being called at 02:40 BST.
“Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, three of whom were led to safety by our crews,” said West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) which evacuated about 200 hotel guests. No-one else was injured, it added.
Fourteen firefighters wearing breathing apparatus dealt with the blaze which was in the HSBC on the ground floor. The bank and hotel chain have both thanked the fire service.
Sam Lewis, WMFS station commander, told the BBC an investigation into the cause was under way, with investigators at the scene on Sunday.
Sally Williams, head of branch network at HSBC UK, said: “I would like to thank the West Midlands Fire Service for the way they handled the situation this morning and brought it under control.”
“Their hard work in difficult and dangerous conditions is greatly appreciated.”
The Premier Inn chain thanked emergency services and its hotel team for their “swift actions”, adding guests had since collected their belongings.
Twelve engines and five brigade response vehicles attended,
The fire service said it checked every room of the hotel, carrying out a floor-by-floor search and there were no further casualties.
The blaze was confirmed to be out shortly before 04:10 and crews then cleared any remaining pockets of smoke.
Ms Lewis said the hotel’s alarms had gone off so guests were “awake and aware something was happening” and crews supported staff to make sure everyone was safe.
“The Premier Inn themselves were really good and confirming who was in the building, what rooms they were in and then obviously finding a second location for them to be moved to for safety,” she said.
Asked about the challenges for crews, she added: “It was the middle of the night, obviously the city centre has still probably got people that were out enjoying the evening, so it was just a case of being able to manage the people [and] the resources.
“We ended up closing the road off because of the number of appliances that we had.”
The fire was contained to the ground floor of the bank while the hotel sustained smoke, not fire, damage, she added.
A Premier Inn spokeswoman said: “We would like to thank the emergency services for their response and the swift actions of our team to ensure the evacuation was handled quickly and calmly, and ensuring guests were able to be cared for in one of our nearby hotels.”
HSBC UK said it would assess the fire damage and repairs needed at the “earliest opportunity”.
“Our priority is to ensure we continue to be there for our customers,” the firm said and asked people to use other branches, including the Jewellery Quarter branch for counter service.
