Hotel / Motel

Reno, NV – Fire in basement laundry at hotel casino contained with help from sprinkler system

A fire in a basement laundry room at the Peppermill Hotel Casino forced a brief evacuation of the property Friday afternoon.

Employees at the hotel attacked the blaze with fire extinguishers and the hotel’s sprinkler system also kicked in to contain the blaze as Reno firefighters responded shortly after noon. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames, evacuated the smoke from the building and checked to ensure it hadn’t spread into other areas of the building, Battalion Chief Mark Winkelman said.

Meanwhile, hotel guests and employees were evacuated into the frigid afternoon air. Many huddled in towels and blankets until they were allowed back inside about an hour later. Guests described the scene inside as calm and orderly as they walked down the stairs to get out of the building.  While some guests saw smoke, none said they saw flames.

Keith and Mallory Lynch of San Francisco were celebrating their wedding anniversary with a couples massage at the hotel spa when the fire alarm sounded and they were asked to leave the building. They stood outside in bathrobes and flip-flops, shivering in the 34-degree weather.

“At first they told us not to worry, but then they said we had to leave,” Keith Lynch said. “Luckily we were near the end of the massage.” Corey Mathes, of Fresno, was taking a shower and getting ready for her 4 p.m. wedding at the hotel when security knocked on the door and told her and fiance Craig Frantzich to evacuate.

“My dress is still up there,” she said, noting she grabbed the wedding rings but failed to get their wedding license. “I will beg a firefighter to go get my dress!”

She and Frantzich have been together for 23 years. “We’ll get married today one way or another,” she said.

Winkelman said the damage didn’t appear to be extensive. The blaze put out billows of smoke after lint on the ceiling caught fire, he said. The sprinkler system also caused some water damage.

Peppermill spokeswoman Katie Silva put out a brief statement: “We experienced a fire in our laundry room this afternoon. We appreciate the quick and professional response by the Reno Fire Department in extinguishing the fire.”