Former hotel destroyed by blaze

FIRE FIGHTERS damp down rubble left after the devastating blaze at the former Lynwood House Hotel. Ref: DT2730

NEIGHBOURS were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Tuesday as 45 fire fighters tackled a blaze at the former Lynwood House Hotel and Restaurant in Bishops Tawton Road, Barnstaple.

They were taken to nearby Park School while the fire was brought under control.

The three-storey building was destroyed by the blaze, the cause of which is under investigation by police and fire officers.

It was confirmed that a small amount of asbestos was involved in the fire.

Lynwood House had been derelict for some time, but was undergoing refurbishment.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue received 59 calls reporting the incident at around 1.30am. Police officers on patrol in Barnstaple saw a large amount of smoke coming from the Newport area and went to investigate.

Initially two fire appliances from Barnstaple were mobilised. Fire fighters found the building well alight and called in a further three appliances from Braunton and Bideford as well as an incident command vehicle with a support pump from Ilfracombe. A water bowser and aerial ladder platform from Barnstaple were also called to the scene.

The fire was brought under control by 3.18am, but some fire fighters were still at the scene as commuters made their way to work around 9am, keeping watch on piles of wood smouldering on the site.

Traffic on Rt. 17 cleared after fire

PARAMUS — Traffic along Routes 4 and 17 has cleared following a roof fire at a hotel under construction, officials said.

The blaze at the Marriott Hotel on Route 17 north was the result of “an unusual series of events” that began shortly before noon when a container of flammable bonding adhesive was somehow knocked over on the roof, said Paramus Chief Fire Inspector Jeff Levine.

Although the spill was contained, some of the adhesive ran down a mechanical shaft onto the floor below, where plumbers were soldering a copper pipe. The adhesive ignited and the fire extended up the shaft and ignited construction materials there.

No one was hurt, but four firefighters were treated on site for heat related injuries, according to Fire Chief Tim Ferguson.

Fire officials closed the right lane of Route 17 north just north of the merge of the Garden State Parkway until they could get the blaze under control, Ferguson said. Traffic backed up for three miles, all the way to the Bergen Mall. Southbound traffic on Route 17 was also snagged as a result of rubbernecking