NORTH CONWAY, N.H. — The state fire marshal in New Hampshire is urging owners of older hotels in the state to install automatic sprinkler systems as part of any future capital improvement projects.
A weekend fire at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort on White Mountain Highway in North Conway raced through the south wing of the resort, which lacked a complete sprinkler system. The fire broke out Saturday, just before 3:00 p.m. Some guests were forced to jump from balconies to escape the flames. Two firefighters and at least one other person had to be treated on the scene.
“The Office of the State Fire Marshal would advocate for owners to consider automatic sprinkler systems as part of capital projects,” according to a statement from the agency on Tuesday.
Under the current state statutes, existing New Hampshire hotels that are not considered a high-rise are not required to have an automatic sprinkler system. Automatic sprinkler systems in new hotels became a fire code requirement in 1991, even for buildings that are not high-rises, according to the fire marshal.
The investigation into the exact cause of the Red Jacket fire could take several more weeks. The fire marshal says the probe is “active and ongoing.”
“Investigators are continuing to follow up on interviews with guests and witnesses,” according to the fire marshal’s statement. “Investigative work is projected to continue over the coming weeks, including gathering information specific to the timeline and sequence of operations of the fire alarm system components.”
The fire marshal’s office also said that its office is getting a lot of inquiries about the fire protection at the Red Jacket.
“Investigators have been able to verify that the guest rooms were equipped with local, hardwired smoke alarms with battery back-up, in addition to a fire alarm system heat detector,” according to the fire marshal’s statement. “The smoke alarms were designed to sound only in the individual guest rooms, once activated. The heat detector would set off the building fire alarm system, once activated.”
The agency also said the main hallways of the hotel were equipped with fire alarm system smoke detectors and alarm notification devices which include (horns and strobes.
On Sunday, Boston 25 spoke with a couple about their dramatic escape from the flames.
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