THE just under 400 guests at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel were yesterday forced to evacuate the 17-storey building due to a fire that erupted in the basement and quickly sent thick, black smoke rushing throughout the entire building.

While there were no reports of life being lost to the morning blaze, which originated in the Country Kitchen Restaurant liquor storeroom, an elderly man had to be treated at hospital for smoke inhalation. Two children – a nine-year-old and a one-year-old – were treated on the spot for smoke inhalation as well.

Firefighters were yesterday unable to determine the cause of the fire, which resulted in the closure of the hotel, but said that the blaze was confined to the storeroom area.

For one frightened guest, yesterday’s jolting event brought back painful memories of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre towers in New York, United States.

“You know, when I saw it the first thing that came to my mind was 9/11. There was so much smoke in the corridor we could not see where we were going. A friend had to grab my hand and lead us out,” the woman, who declined to be named, told the Observer.

Several guests – including pollster Bill Johnson, who were on the ninth floor at the time – complained of not hearing the fire alarm. Johnson said he was only notified of the fire by a hotel worker who knocked on his door and led him and a group of other guests down the emergency exit.

“I didn’t hear a fire alarm but you could smell smoke though,” Johnson said.

But the hotel’s general manager, Eldon Bremner, told a hastily called press conference later that the fire alarm was triggered, though he could not say for sure if the fire alarms on all the floors went off.

According to Bremner, at approximately 11:30 am hotel staff became aware of the fire and immediately started evacuating people. “Our staff were dispatched to the various floors to ensure that our guests were escorted [off the building],” he said.

“All guests [382] guests are accounted for and all staff are accounted for,” added Bremner who noted that arrangements were made for the hotel’s guests and staff to be temporarily housed at neighbouring the Hilton Kingston and Courtleigh hotels.

Bremner, who said that the hotel was at 82 per cent occupancy, said that not all the guests were on the building when the fire started.

It was not clear yesterday when the hotel would be fully operational, but Marjorie Campbell, chief operating officer, said that all would be done to ensure that this is done “in the shortest possible time”.