Dead Sea hotel fire extinguished, no injuries reported

AMMAN — Fifteen Crown Plaza Hotel employees were evacuated from its spa at the Dead Sea on Saturday after a minor blaze gutted the sauna area, according to hotel and rescue officials.

No one was injured in the fire, which started at 10am in the ladies four-square-metre sauna on the second floor of the spa, a hotel official told The Jordan Times.

“There was a woman in a different section in the spa who was escorted out by our staff  without any incident,” the hotel official said.

The Civil Defence Department (CDD) issued a statement saying that 15 employees were evacuated following the minor blaze.

“Firefighters managed to contain the blaze and prevented its spread to other areas of the spa,” the CDD statement said.

A committee was formed by the CDD and other agencies to investigate the incident.

“The cause of the blaze was — most probably — an electrical short circuit, but we will wait for final investigation results by the authorities, which will be out within a week’s time,” the hotel official said.

The official added that the damage was only in the sauna area and “we estimate that business will be back to normal in the spa within a week,” he added.

The official said that smoke covered the area, forcing evacuation of the staff after the alarm was triggered.

“Our main priority is the safety and security of our staff and guests, and the evacuation was just a precautionary measure that we train our staff on, on a regular basis,” he added.