by Francesco Zuppiroli
It all started with a cloud of smoke. Dense, escaped through the cracks in the door that leads to the laundry room on the sixth floor at the Concordia hotel in via Martinelli in Miramare. There, where a dryer suffered a technical problem, probably a short circuit, which risked turning the stay of 139 people on the Riviera into a tragedy. One hundred and thirty-nine guests who last night at around 00.40 were asleep inside the hotel. In fact, the hands did not yet point to one when the tourists were abruptly thrown out of bed by the fire alarm bell: the first to pick up the cloud of smoke caused by the malfunctioning appliance.
Terrible moments, moments of panic for what never appeared to be an exercise. Rather an escalation of tension which, however, the evacuation protocols and the quick wit of the facility’s employees made it possible to nip in the bud. In fact, while the flames from the dryer began to lick the laundry room on the sixth floor, the hotel staff immediately took action to proceed with the complete evacuation of the structure. One hundred and thirty-nine people, including some children, were thus diligently brought out while three hero employees were the first to go to the sixth floor of the hotel and begin to contain the fire with fire extinguishers.
Shortly thereafter, the firefighters arrived. Of the police. of the 118 health workers. A copious deployment of forces which thus allowed the fire to be completely put out in a couple of hours and left behind only a great scare for the 139 tourists present, who, around 3, thus returned to the respective rooms. In fact, only the laundry spaces remained unavailable – seriously damaged by the fire – as well as some service rooms used by the staff and adjacent to where the flames were generated.
“Unfortunately, everything worked out wonderfully.” Angelo Russo, representative of the management of the Concordia hotel, speaks calmly. With the knowledge that “the emergency was managed in the best possible way, thanks also to the heroic intervention of three of our employees who, contemptuous of the danger and the flames, began to contain the fire with fire extinguishers even before the firefighters arrived” . The three heroic employees, following the large quantity of smoke inhaled, were subsequently transferred to the Rimini hospital with a medium severity code for intoxication.
But fortunately already yesterday at lunchtime the three were discharged without further serious consequences. “We would like to thank our staff for the skill shown in applying the protocols, as well as all the emergency services, first and foremost the firefighters, who then intervened to prevent the situation from degenerating.” “The contribution of the nearby hotels is also important – continues Russo –. I am thinking of the Camelia hotel, which to make it easier for younger customers to spend time outside the facility, has made some of its rooms available to host families with children. Around at 3 all the guests returned without further inconvenience and what remains is some damage, but much less than what could have happened”, concludes the management representative.
