Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Fort Lauderdale, FL – Fifth floor hotel parking garage fire contained by sprinkler system August 1, 2018 viking210 More than 100 guests were evacuated from a Fort Lauderdale hotel early Friday when a smoke and flames were seen in the parking garage, according to fire rescue officials. A car caught fire about 7 a.m. on the fifth floor of the garage at the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel, at 551 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., fire officials said. “The sprinkler system had activated and the fire was contained to that one vehicle,” said Battalion Chief Steve Gollan. “The hotel staff had already started to evacuate the building. The evacuated guests waited on the sidewalk across the street on the beach while firefighters ventilated any lingering smoke from the hotel and the garage. The smoke and water affected the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the parking garage but people reported smelling smoke inside the hotel, he said. “One of the biggest challenges we have is it’s basically a high-rise fire,” Gollan said. “We have to get all the gear and [firefighters] up there and it’s an enclosed parking garage so we had some difficulties getting all of the smoke out of the building.” The evacuation lasted about 90 minutes but there were no reports of any injuries. The cause of the car fire is under investigation, he said.
