Belfast Hotel Fire Causes Serious Damage to Rooftop Bar

Conall Wolsey, from owners Beannchor Group, said the kitchen and plant room, at the rooftop bar of the hotel, have been destroyed. “There is severe smoke and water damage to the building,” he said.

He added that it could have been a lot worse, paying tribute to the fire service for their “speedy response.” The hotel is closed and will be for the rest of the week, according to the BBC.

Mr Wolsey said engineers would assess the structural integrity of the building before anyone would be allowed back in. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire could have spread to other buildings.

Group Commander David Harbinson told BBC News NI that firefighters had worked to stop the fire spreading across the roof. “It originated on the top floor and once it breached through the roof the oxygen started to feed the fire,” he said. Mr Harbinson said the fire was being treated as accidental.

“We believed, from information we were given, that it was spread through an extraction system.”

“There was some smoke damage and water damage but this could have been a much more serious incident if it hadn’t been for swift action of firefighters,” said Mr Harbinson.

The fire caused widespread traffic disruption during one of the busiest periods of the day for road users in the city centre. Victoria Street was reopened on Tuesday night, having been closed between Ann Street and High Street while the fire was dealt with.

How to Prevent Grease Fires 

There continues to be fire incidents involving the mechanical extraction systems of commercial kitchens. Given the presence of heat and high fuel loads, fires in kitchens are not uncommon. However, when the incident extends into the mechanical exhaust system, safety risks and building impacts can rapidly escalate, sometimes resulting in devastating and widespread damage. 

These high-intensity fires move and spread rapidly, are difficult to locate and extinguish, and are susceptible to remote re-ignition and break-out. The single most important thing you can do to keep your systems safe is to regularly inspect and keep the system clean. Make sure you are correctly insured, and discuss with your cleaning contractor any safety hazards or compliance issues in your system.

Shepherd Filters have tackled the problem and now provide a safe, reliable, simple solution for the marketplace that substantially reduces the grease load, improves hood-system maintenance, prevents fires, and helps manage fire risks while lowering costs — a solution that retrofits very easily within existing kitchen systems.