Sheffield city centre hotel evacuated after fire breaks out

Guests at the Novotel Sheffield Centre on Arundel Gate were forced to leave their rooms in the early hours of this morning.

They were taken to the Mercure hotel next door until it was safe to return.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said it was called by hotel staff at 2.50am to reports of three industrial wheelie bins alight outside the entrance to the car park.

One crew from Sheffield Central fire station attended and quickly extinguished the blaze before leaving the scene at around 3.15am.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said the heat from the fire had caused a nearby drainpipe to melt but there was no significant damage to the hotel building. She added that the cause of the fire is not known at this stage but it is not thought to have been started deliberately.

A spokeswoman for the hotel said: ”We can confirm that a fire broke out outside the Novotel Sheffield Centre in the early hours of this morning and was quickly extinguished by the emergency services.

“All guests were safely evacuated to the Mercure hotel next door and there is no significant damage to the building.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation to establish the cause of the fire.”

Stuart Norris, who was staying at the hotel and shared these photos of the drama, praised firefighters for dealing with the blaze ‘very quickly’ and said guests had been allowed back in once the smoke had cleared at around 4am.