Small house fire doused quickly by Vail firefighters

Special to the Daily |
VAIL — A handful of guests were evacuated from a Lionshead hotel for a couple hours, as Vail firefighters doused a small blaze that started in one of the units’ mechanical room.
At 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Vail firefighters responded to a call from the Lodge at Lionshead, where some combustible items — pillows and paper — caught fire. They were stored in a mechanical closet of one of the units, next to a heat source, said Mark Novak, Vail fire chief.
In that closet were also things like paint thinner and paint, Novak said.
“If it had ignited those items, it could have been much more serious,” Novak said.
No Injuries Reported

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The first engine crew was on the scene in minutes, and found smoke on the third floor. They upgraded it to a structure fire alarm and evacuated the hotel, Novak said.
In all, 13 people were displaced for a couple hours, Novak said.
No injuries were reported, and all the guests were back in their rooms in a couple hours, Novak said.
“The safety lesson is, if it can burn, don’t store it close to a heat source. Store it somewhere safe,” Novak said.