Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia, July 21 (CTK) – The fire that broke out in the underground premises of the Hotel Thermal in the Karlovy Vary spa town last night caused damage estimated at eight million crowns and its cause is still investigated, the fire brigade spokesman Martin Kasal said on Friday.
A hotel receptionist reported the fire at 19:30. The firefighters got the fire under their control within an hour and put it out completely by 21:00.
Due to the smoke, all the hotel guests, about 260 people, had to be evacuated. They were allowed to return to their rooms around 23:30, after the hotel was aired.
The fire started in the balneotheraphy unit, just under the rooms for the guests.
The task of the firefighters was more difficult due to extremely high temperatures and heavy smoke that required the use of respirators.
Ten firefighting units from the Karlovy Vary Region plus one unit from the neighbouring region, which had a 50-metre long ladder that could reach the hotel’s topmost floor, arrived to intervene.
Hotel Thermal is a 16-floor construction made of reinforced concrete, which was inspired by Brutalist architecture. It was built in the 1970s and has more than 500 rooms. The hotel was the centre of the Karlovy Vary annual international film festival, which ended two weeks ago.
As the hotel was built 40 years ago, it does not have the required anti-fire systems. This is one of the reasons why the Czech state, which owns the hotel, plans its reconstruction.
