Red Jacket Resort In New Hampshire Didn't Have Sprinklers In Wing Destroyed By Fire
NORTH CONWAY, N.H. (CBS) -- The Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire will be closed until further notice after a fire ripped through the popular hotel on Saturday.
North Conway Fire Chief Pat Preece said Sunday that the flames burned for roughly 12 hours, and firefighters needed until 2 a.m. to put the fire out. The fire started on the third floor in the south wing of the resort a little before 3 p.m. on Saturday. Preece said one of the reasons the fire lasted so long was there were no sprinklers in south wing, which was built in the 1970s before sprinklers were required.
The New Hampshire Fire Marshal said after the fire started "some guests could be seen jumping from upper-level to lower-level balconies before safely escaping at the ground level."
All the guests in the building were accounted for though. Two firefighters and one person were treated for minor injuries.
Smoke alarms were apparently working, but the fire is said to have burned a circuit that caused them to go out.
The flames were so big that firefighters from 28 communities helped put them out.
The resort is a family retreat in New Hampshire's White Mountains and is home to Kahuna Laguna, an indoor water park.