There were no injuries or instances of smoke inhalation, however the occupants of the Travelodge Hotel in North Battleford were evacuated Tuesday evening for a short time due to smoke being spotted in the unused nightclub area.
Just before 8 p.m. the North Battleford Fire Department received a call for service. On arrival, the hotel had already been evacuated and a light smoke was showing in the former Garage nightclub.
Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to attempt to discover the heat source associated with the smoke and an aerial truck was used to gain access to the roof to check rooftop heaters.
The fire department says the smoke cleared out on its own, without responders ever finding the source.
It is assumed a rooftop heater was the source, but extinguished itself before if could be located. It was determined plumbers should attend the scene to further investigate and the property was released to the owner a little more than an hour after the call.
Four vehicles and nine firefighters were on the scene, and RCMP and WPD Ambulance attended as well.
Wednesday morning, Travelodge manager Gary Pfeifer said no fire alarms were triggered and the smoke smell was likely from a heater starting up that hadn't been used in a while. An evacuation wasn't necessary, however it is better to be safe then sorry, he said.
