Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Peosta, IA – Hotel fire caused by electric heater/AC unit contained by sprinkler system April 7, 2016 viking210 A late-afternoon fire today forced the temporary closure of a Peosta hotel. Centralia-Peosta firefighters were called to Quality Inn & Suites at about 4:30 p.m. today after a fire was reported. Scanner traffic indicated that the hotel had been evacuated and that smoke was spreading in the bottom floors. Ray Stephan, assistant chief for the Centralia-Peosta Fire Department, said the fire began in a small entryway in a staircase leading to the first floor. “The sprinkler head was going off as we entered the building,” Stephan said. “We found it was a combination electric heater and air conditioning unit that had shorted out and burned.” Nicole Minnihan, a sergeant with the Peosta Police Department, confirmed that guests were present at the time of the fire but said there were no injuries. “Right now, the accommodations (for the guests) are still being worked out,” Minnihan said as of about 5:30 p.m. Stephan said at 6:10 p.m. that the hotel’s status for tonight was “in limbo.” He said hotel staff were pushing to keep the hotel open, but that the establishment could not reopen until sprinklers were back in service. He noted that a pipe was damaged during the fire. Minnihan said the fire was contained to one space inside the hotel, but smoke spread beyond that area to damage other portions of the hotel. She said the fire had been extinguished by 5:15 p.m. In addition to Peosta police and firefighters, officials with the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene. “Everything is still under investigation at this point,” she said.
