![A laundry room fire was reported at 3:41 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express in Lebec on Saturday, March 31. All guests were evacuated.
Firefighters contained the damage to the laundry room. The hotel was still closed on April 4. [Gary Meyer photo for The Mountain Enterprise]](https://mountainenterprise.com/fds/images/story/fs_10118.jpg)
A laundry room fire was reported at 3:41 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express in Lebec on Saturday, March 31. All guests were evacuated. Firefighters contained the damage to the laundry room. The hotel was still closed on April 4. [Gary Meyer photo for The Mountain Enterprise]
By Gary Meyer
A laundry room fire reported at 3:41 p.m. in Lebec’s Holiday Inn Express prompted evacuation of all occupants Saturday, March 31.
As Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) crews arrived, they observed smoke coming from first-floor windows of the three-story building. They immediately called for a second alarm. Engine 56 made the initial attack on the flames, while personnel from Engines 55 and 57 evacuated the building.
“The hotel’s sprinkler and alarm systems worked perfectly,” KCFD Captain Erik Vibe told The Mountain Enterprise.
The fire was caused by a clothes dryer fire in a first floor laundry room. Fire sprinklers helped to keep the flames from spreading beyond the laundry room. There were no injuries.
Damage was estimated at $150,000 with $6,000,000 worth of property saved.
This is part of the April 06, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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