Fire at St. Thomas’ premier hotel

~~Adz:Left~~St. Thomas, USVI- ON Monday night, guests and staff at the Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort were forced to evacuate the building after a fire broke out on the third floor around 8:30 p.m.

According to reports in the local media, the Virgin Islands Fire Service and several other groups of first responders arrived on the scene shortly after smoke had engulfed an area near a restaurant in the resort.

It was also reported that two ambulances were dispatched to the scene and emergency response radio traffic ‘mentioned a possible victim of smoke inhalation’.

The hundreds of guests and on-duty employees at the resort at the time of the blaze escaped unscathed thanks to early warnings from the staff and fire service personnel to evacuate immediately.

Guests milled about outside as firemen extinguished the blaze and according to the general manager, Jose Gonzalez, were allowed back into the resort sometime after 10 p.m.

Shortly after the incident, Fire Chief Glen Francis indicated that the cause of the fire has not been determined but he did not think there were any injuries outside of a few people being treated for smoke inhalation.