PHOENIX — Firefighters are at Westin Kierland Resort after a fire started at the resort Tuesday evening, according to the Phoenix Fire Department. The resort was evacuated due to the fire.
Crews responded to the fire at the resort near Kierland Boulevard and Greenway Parkway on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. after there were reports of smoke in the ballroom, according to Captain Scott Douglas, with the Phoenix Fire Department.
When fire units arrived, they found smoke and a smoldering fire in a laundry duct that is under construction, Douglas said.
Over 100 firefighters from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale responded to the fire.
"The initial reports are that construction workers using a saw to modify a laundry duct cut the roof, spreading sparks into the building and causing a fire," said Douglas.
Smoke from the fire was pushed into the ballroom by the air handling unit, according to Douglas.
Sparks from the fire caught the building's roof on fire, according to Douglas.
"Crews quickly responded with an aggressive roof and interior attack on the flames and were able to successfully extinguish the blaze," said Douglas.
Fire crews said the resort voluntarily evacuated the hotel. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
“We came back from the pool, and we were just lounging around, and then the alarm, voice alarm starting going off in our room, said Toronto resident Greg Soltesz.
"We headed down the stairs. We could smell smoke but didn’t see any smoke," said Soltesz.
“We arrived this afternoon, put our bags in, and went to do a little shopping and have a little bit of dinner and came back and noticed all the first responders," said guest David Blankinship.
Blankinship and his wife weren’t the only guests caught off guard by the emergency.
Beverly Branch, her husband, and her pup were not able to immediately rest while they made a pit stop on their way to Houston.
“Well, what can you do? As long as the place didn’t burn down, that’s the most important thing," said Branch.
Fire investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.
This is the second hotel fire in the Valley this week. On Sunday, 100 people were displaced after a fire erupted at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel near 27th and Dunlap avenues.
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