Hotel, Willenhall
A Holiday Inn on Wolverhampton Road West in Willenhall, was ravaged by fire that tore through hotel rooms and sent up smoke that could be seen from miles around.
Around 60 firefighters in 10 fire engines tackled the fire at its height, which is believed to have started in the sauna, according to a Holiday Inn spokesman.
Incident commander Dave Hodgkins said: “The building has been completely gutted out by the fire. “We managed to save a small part of it when the fire was spreading, but the affected areas have been completely destroyed.”
Thankfully, no one was injured and all staff and guests were accounted for with guests being relocated to Holiday Inn Express, which is located nearby to the burnt-out Holiday Inn – however a number of wedding plans were left in tatters.
West Midlands Fire Service have since revealed the hotel did not have any sprinklers fitted, despite calls for some to be installed. Prior to the blaze the fire service had recommended the hotel fit sprinklers in the building, but they were never installed.
A mound of rubble is all that remains following the demolition of Walsall’s Holiday Inn after a devastating fire.
Image Credit: West Midlands Ambulance Service