Watch: Happy Days for The Fonz after fire alert at Shelbourne Hotel

Eleanor Burnhill Eleanor Burnhill | 06-13 00:15

Staff and guests, including US actor Henry Winkler, were evacuated following a fire at the historic Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin city centre this morning.

Guests said they were alerted by a fire alarm at around 10.30am.

A witness said he saw smoke coming from one of the upper bedroom windows.

All staff and guests were told to leave the building with the fire brigade arriving minutes later.

The fire brigade brought the blaze under control in less than an hour and the hotel and the road outside reopened afterwards.

Mr Winkler, best known as The Fonz from US sitcom Happy Days, is in Dublin to promote his memoir 'Being Henry - The Fonz and Beyond'.

He was seen thanking members of Dublin Fire Brigade for their work.

Henry Winkler, best known as TV's 'The Fonz' was a guest at The Shelbourne and was seen thanking members of @DubFireBrigade for their work.
He said he was woken by what he thought was an alarm clock this morning, when he realised it was the fire alarm going off @rtenews pic.twitter.com/WNWZOvhKag

— Eleanor Burnhill (@ElMcM) June 12, 2024

He said he was woken by what he thought was an alarm clock, when he realised it was the fire alarm going off.

"I thought somebody had set the alarm before we got there, like another guest. And finally I went into another room and it was still buzzing, so I called downstairs and the woman said in a very calm voice 'Yes, we're all evacuating. You must evacuate right now' and I left."

Mr Winkler praised the "wonderful" fire crew who attended the scene.

He said these people were some of his "favourite human beings. Firemen and firewomen. They run in when other people are running out."

District Officer with Dublin Fire Brigade Colm Kershaw, the senior officer at the scene, said the fire appeared to have started in the roof space above a bedroom in the new wing on the sixth floor.

Several Dublin Fire Brigade units attended the scene (pic:RollingNews.ie)

"It was confined to that room. There was minimal damage to the hotel because the crews got up there fairly quick and got water on it. We had the floor isolated and we got it out fairly quick," he said.

Mr Kershaw added that just a little bit of water damage had been caused. "Everyone is out safe. Everyone was out the hotel, so everything worked very well,."

An electrical fault is being investigated as a possible cause.

Firefighters used a crane to reach the higher floors and accessed the roof of the building close to where smoke was seen coming from a window.

US actor Henry Winkler speaking to fire crews outside the Shelbourne Hotel

Mr Kershaw said that working in an historic building like the Shelbourne meant "you have to get everything done quickly with the minimum amount of damage".

He said: "We didn't have to damage the roof. We thought we might have to take some of the roof off to ventilate it, but we didn't have to in the end so there's minimal damage to the protected structure."

The landmark Shelbourne Hotel dates back to 1824 and is known as 'The Grand Dame' of Dublin.

Additional reporting Samantha Libreri

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