Small fire at Holiday Inn Sunspree Hotel

Flames damage buildings but leave operations intact at MoBay resort

BY HORACE HINES Sunday Observer staff reporter editorial@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, February 19, 2012

ROSE HALL, St James — Operations at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Hotel and Spa in Montego Bay were reportedly unaffected by a fire which razed the maintenance building in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Holiday Inn Group Director of Marketing Nicola Madden-Greig told the Sunday Observer yesterday evening that the hotel is running normally.

"It was just a small fire which broke out at the facility. The structure was not connected to the section where the guests are accommodated so it did not affect the guests in any way," said Madden-Greig.

Members of the St James Fire Department were, up to late yesterday afternoon, conducting investigations to determine the cause of the fire. No one was hurt as a result of the blaze.

According to Kevon Haughton, acting superintendent of the St James Fire Department, at about 12:46 am yesterday, his men were summoned to the hotel where two workshops in the Maintenance Department and two storage areas were engulfed in flames.

Haughton disclosed that 32 firefighters working with five units from the Ironshore and Freeport Fire departments managed to put out the fire in an intense 15-minute operation.

The two storage areas, as well as the welding and woodwork sections were completely destroyed, the acting superintendent said.

He further advised that the fire spread to the building housing the Human Resource Department of the hotel's administration, which is in close proximity to the Maintenance Department, partially destroying the roof.

The cost of the damage to the facility is still unknown.