Fire at Dauphin County hotel forces evacuation

More than 300 people were evacuated from the Sheraton hotel on Lindle Road in Swatara Township after a fire broke out in the laundry room and got into the ducts Tuesday evening.

There were no injuries to guests or firefighters, Swatara Township Fire Marshal Darrin Robinson said. The blaze, which started just after 6 p.m., caused minimal damage, according to the hotel's general manager, Tom Dickert.

Somerset County Hotel Evacuated After Minor Fire

Posted: 2:30 pm July 14, 2009
A Somerset County hotel was evacuated for some time Tuesday morning after a minor fire.

Everyone at the Quality Inn near the turnpike in Somerset was evacuated around 10 a.m. as a precaution.

The manager said the power went out, causing the transformer to blow one of the hotel's generators. There were no smoke or flames, but an electrical smell lingered in parts of the building.

Fire crews had the situation under control within 20 minutes and the manager said no one was hurt.

There were about 50 rooms occupied at the time, and power was back up and running by noon.