Ritz closes after fire
The Ritz hotel in London was closed to guests today after a blaze cut off its power supply.
More than 90 guests were evacuated following the fire late last night in a sub-basement of the building.
Fire crews were called just after 11.40pm and spent more than two hours tackling the blaze with hand-held dry powder extinguishers and later a waterjet.
Guests were taken to the nearby Mayfair Intercontinental Hotel while workers attempted to reconnect power supplies.
A spokeswoman for The Ritz said: “The hotel is not operating for guests. We don’t have any electricity or hot water or gas.”
She added that she was unable to say when it would reopen.
The exclusive hotel in Piccadilly, central London was opened in 1906 and is still a favourite with the rich and famous.
Prices range from £305 (€490) a night for a single room up to £1,650 (€2,630) for a two bedroom suite.
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “The fire was contained to the electrical intake room. It’s not being treated as suspicious, it appears to be a malfunction.”
“Smoke could be smelt on the first and second floors so we hand to ventilate part of the building.
“People were evacuated very quickly and efficiently by the hotel staff.”
No one was injured in the incident.
