Nobody hurt in fire at Beatles-themed hotel in Liverpool

Can you read this without singing Penny Lane?

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Firefighters were called to tackle a fire at a hotel in Liverpool yesterday (February 14th), with a fault with the air conditioning unit thought to be to blame.

The Beatles-themed Hard Day's Night hotel in North John Street - a part of the city's centre - was evacuated at around 13:19 GMT after reports of a fire in the penthouse suite.

Crews from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were quickly on the scene to tackle the conflagration, using breathing apparatus with two main hoses. Just under six hours later, fire safety officers were dealing with hot spots after the blaze was brought under control.

Nobody was hurt in the incident after an evacuation of the premises quickly took place, while the deployment of eight fire appliances meant there were enough fire fighters on the scene.

While the blaze occurred on the fifth floor, crews undertook an assessment of the fourth storey to ensure the fire had not spread.

Area manager of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Dave Mottram, said: "The fire was initially difficult to get to due to its location but firefighters worked fast to limit the damage.
"The fire was initially located in an area under renovation on the fifth floor. The fire was within voids including roof spaces and walls and by 19.10 GMT we were in the process of damping down and ensuring there was no further fire spread."

The hotel's owner, Mike Dewey, told Click Liverpool that everyone was safely out of the building within ten minutes, but the cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.

He added that the building would be closed for 24 hours to allow investigations to take place, along with a thorough assessment on the safety of all floors.

All commercial properties and workplaces, including hotels, in Scotland must have a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment carried out under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.

If the assessment is thought to have been carried out to an insufficient extent, the Duty Holder can face an unlimited fine and imprisonment.