Fire shuts down a Hobart hotel

A fire which broke out at 2am this morning at the Brunswick Hotel in Hobart’s CBD, has led to the evacuation of guests out of a second floor window.

A Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) spokesman said by the time the firefighters arrived, the hotel was fully alight.

"An evacuation immediately took place, with firefighters evacuating some occupants through a second-storey window," the spokesperson said.

"At least 30 firefighters were on scene at the peak of the fire. The fire has been contained to the hotel."

Darren Brown, the hotel manager was "absolutely devastated".

"We've put everything into that property to try and rebuild post-COVID and just started to get some response … to be woken a bit before 2:00am to find that it was on fire."

Brown said night managers who resided in the building woke to smoke and assisted guests to escape.

According to Brown, the façade of the hotel is still intact but it’s is yet to be determined if the building is structurally sound.

"To be honest, when I first got here, I thought we'll get this thing saved … [when] there was 30 to 50 foot flames in the air, it was like we're not going to be saving this," he said.

Businesses along the same CBD strip have also been forced to close due to power interruptions, smoke and the ongoing investigation into the fire.

A smoke alert has been issued for the city.

Irit Jackson, 12th July 2021