Fire crews call a second alarm on a fire at the Holiday Inn at Kellogg & Rock Road. Firefighters were called to the scene at around 11:30 Wednesday morning when an air-conditioning and heating unit in a vacant room on the fourth floor caught fire.
Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp says the initial crews found smoke and flames coming from a fourth-floor room. When they got to the area, they found significant fire in that room. Crisp says the sprinkler system kept the fire in check and fire crews were able to finish putting out the fire.
Guests staying at the hotel were evacuated.
"I grabbed my self phone and opened the door, smelled smoke," Dave Goldman, who stayed at the hotel said. "I just ran to the fire exit, just ran down the stairs. As I was running down the stairs I saw the fire personnel, the fire fighters in full gear coming up. I could smell the smoke at that time so I knew it was something to be taken seriously."
A hotel employee suffered minor smoke inhalation. We spoke with that employee at the scene, he says he was on the fourth floor when the fire alarms went off. He's okay now.
The fire alarms went off as they were supposed to and everyone got out of the building safely.
Investigators said that the actual fire was contained to the room, but there was smoke and water damage from the sprinklers on the fourth floor and other nearby floors. They also said there was about $200,000 of smoke, water and fire damage.
Eyewitness News has crews on the scene, look for updates as they become available.
