Category Archives: Structural Damage

by | February 9, 2015 · 11:02 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “U. Michigan Frat Accused Of Causing $50,000 In Damage To Hotel ‘Embarrassed And Ashamed’ Of Behavior” (VIDEO)

“We had a group of a fraternity that was visiting and had an excessive party and did damage on the resort.frat party Food, beer, alcohol, the walls, carpet damage, ceiling broken down and furniture damage,” the Treetops Resorts general manager told local 9 & 10 News. He also said that the students had to be led out of the hotel by police.

The University of Michigan chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu released a statement Wednesday taking responsibility for a reported $50,000 worth of damage to a northern Michigan ski resort.

“We are embarrassed and ashamed of the behavior of a few of our chapter members at Treetops Resort over the weekend of January 17-18,” the fraternity said. “This behavior is inconsistent with the values, policies, and practices of this organization.”

The Sigma Alpha Mu members allegedly caused a reported $50,000 worth of damage. Two other UMich fraternities also reportedly caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to another nearby ski resort the same weekend.

For more: http://read.bi/1CMh6GM

And for more on how to manage special events, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/119141202 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Managing Prom Nights & Grad Parties’. 

P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

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by | August 19, 2014 · 9:30 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Water Line Bursts, Floods W Hotel”

“…San Diego Fire crews tried to help fix the flooding, but the damage done is more than the firefighters were prepared to handle.Water leak W Hotel Instead, an outside company that specializes in flooding cleanup was called in to deal with it…Guests rooms were not damaged in the flooding, hotel management told NBC 7. There was extensive damage to other areas of the hotel including some flooding into the lobby, they said…”

Guests are avoiding some major flooding after a big water line burst inside the W Hotel Monday night.

Water started leaking from the third floor, through the roof and down onto floors below around 8:15 p.m. inside the hotel at 421 W. B Street.

Joyce Baghtassarian was staying at the W Hotel on her trip to San Diego from Los Angeles. She was heading out the door to go to dinner when she noticed water flowing from the elevators.

For more: http://bit.ly/1rkkTGF

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by | March 14, 2014 · 8:56 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Code Violations Plagued The Majestic Hotel Before Fire”

“…In an evaluation of the hotel in 2012, the fire chief predicted the hotel’s ultimate demise stating, “In the event of a fire it is anticipated portions of the yellow brick will begin to fail at an early state in the fire’s development.Image To place the cities firefighters inside the yellow brick building under those firefighting conditions is to needlessly expose them to injury or death…”

Two weeks ago today an historic hotel, more than 100 years old, went up in flames. Tonight, we’re learning more about what Hot Springs city leaders did to try and prevent the Majestic Hotel fire. Talk to just about any Hot Springs resident and they’ll give you a memory of the Majestic.

One bystander said, “That was the restaurant there and 20 years ago my husband and I had our first date there.” Another person said, “We had our wedding reception in the Majestic.” In the 1950’s the hotel became so popular, construction crews added on to it.

For more: http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/d/story/code-violations-plagued-the-majestic-hotel-before/52879/rJ44s7w9-ku2EpG5lLKoGw

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by | December 17, 2013 · 9:45 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Fire Likely An Electrical Short Tied To Bathtub Overflow; “Fire Stops” Limit Damage

“…(the fire likely started in the area where) a bathtub on the second floor overflowed for an extended period of time…the fire was likely electrical Hotel Fire and Smoke Damagein nature…Most of the damage was limited to the back one-third of the hotel, thanks to the building’s design, which includes “fire stops” — concrete barriers between sections of larger buildings that help keep potential fires from spreading…”

Investigators say a fire that tore through the Days Inn in Wausau Saturday evening started in the same area where a bathtub overflowed earlier in the day. Investigators from the Wausau Police Department, Wausau Fire Department, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office were at the hotel at 116 S. 17th Ave. Sunday to look into the cause of the blaze that displaced at least 20 long-term residents.

Wausau Police Capt. Greg Hagenbucher said investigators were notified of an incident earlier on Saturday where an amount of water damage was caused when a bathtub on the second floor overflowed for an extended period of time. The damage occurred in the same area where the fire was discovered. Hagenbucher said the fire was likely electrical in nature and does not appear suspicious.

For more: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20131215/WRT01/312150299/Updated-Days-Inn-fire-likely-electrical-tied-water-damage-from-overflowing-bathtub

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by | November 30, 2013 · 11:53 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: North Carolina Hotel Suffers “Extensive Water Damage” From Fire Sprinklers Activated By Small Heating Unit Fire

“…Most of the damage was from the sprinkler system…once a fire activates the system, the sprinklers will continue to pour water (up to 40 Hotel Water Damagegallons per minute) until someone shuts them off…workers from a disaster recovery service, hauled fans and dehumidifiers to the damaged rooms. Workers had torn up soaked carpets from several of the rooms and at least half of one of the hallways…”

A small fire in a failed heating unit in an unoccupied room at the Holiday Inn on Glenwood Avenue on Thursday night caused extensive damage, but not because of the flames. Fire sprinklers doused the entire 10th floor of the building, soaking carpets, furniture and wallpaper. Damage extended to an estimated 25 percent of the building, according to a Raleigh Fire Department report.

About 70 firefighters arrived at the hotel just before 9 p.m. Thursday, but the sprinklers had already quenched the flames. No one was injured.

“They are designed to put a fire out, and the only way they can do that is to flow a lot of water,” Hicks said.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/29/3417282/fire-extinguishers-at-holiday.html#storylink=cpy

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by | August 12, 2013 · 5:53 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Florida Resort Building Damaged As “Large Sinkhole Opens Up”; 30 Percent Of Three-Story Structure Collapses

“…(guests) could hear a cracking sound as the villa began sinking. A large crack was visible at the building’s base…most sinkholes are small. Hotel Resort Sinkhole DamageSinkholes can develop quickly or slowly over time…they are caused by Florida’s geology — the state sits on limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water, with a layer of clay on top. The clay is thicker in some locations making them even more prone to sinkholes…Other states sit atop limestone in a similar way, but Florida has additional factors like extreme weather, development, aquifer pumping and construction…”

A sinkhole caused a section of a central Florida resort villa to partially collapse early Monday, while another section of the villa was sinking, authorities said. About 30 percent of the three-story structure collapsed around 3 a.m. Monday, Lake County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tony Cuellar said. The villa at the Summer Bay Resort had already been evacuated and no injuries were reported. Cuellar said authorities were also concerned about another section of the villa, which was sinking.

The sinkhole comes five months after one elsewhere in Florida killed a man. Monday’s sinkhole, which is in the middle of the villa, is about 40 to 50 feet in diameter, Cuellar said. He said authorities think it was getting deeper but couldn’t tell early Monday if it was growing outward.

The villa houses 24 units and about 20 people were staying in it at the time, Cuellar said. Authorities were called to the scene, about 10 miles west of Disney World, late Sunday where they found that the building was making popping sounds and windows were breaking.

For more:  http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_23843301/huge-florida-sinkhole-causes-resort-villa-partially-collapse

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by | August 10, 2013 · 6:29 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Virginia Restaurant Kitchen Fire Spreads Inside Walls And Ceiling; $100,000 Interior And Water Damage

“…After extinguishing the flames in the area of a kitchen broiler, firefighters discovered “there was fire in the wall behind the burner … and up in Restaurant Fire Risksthe ceiling…part of the wall had to be torn away and ceiling tiles had to be removed to finish quelling the blaze…a rough estimate put the damage to the restaurant at $100,000 — “a lot of that due to the cleanup that will be necessary…”

The TGI Fridays restaurant at the entrance to the Downtown Short Pump shopping center remained closed Monday after a fire erupted Saturday night. A manager said Monday that the restaurant could reopen in about two weeks.

The restaurant, at 11600 W. Broad St., was closed Saturday night after a kitchen fire erupted about 9:40 p.m. and the Henrico County Fire Department was called. Firefighters responded and had the blaze under control in about 30 minutes.

For more:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/retail/tgi-fridays-restaurant-in-short-pump-remains-closed-after-fire/article_69e0e0bb-5790-5505-9dca-031e13fd3ac2.html

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by | August 9, 2013 · 6:32 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Washington Restaurant Destroyed By Fire Caused By Cleaning Towels Left In Dryer “Spontaneously Combusting”

Restaurant Cleaning Towel Combustion Fires“…It was the second restaurant fire in Olympia in two years caused by towels in the dryer, and the fifth in five years to other businesses including hair salons…the cleaning towels that were left inside the dryer smolder for hours and then spontaneously combust.  The greases and oils used in the cleaning process apparently don’t all get washed out…”

Investigators have determined a fire that destroyed the Oyster House restaurant in Olympia started in the dryer, when cleaning towels spontaneously combusted. Now, they’re sending out a warning to all restaurants, hair salons, and even bowling alleys where towels are used to clean things and then washed and tossed in the dryer.

Olympia fire investigator Brian Schenk gave KOMO News a close look at the dryer where the Oyster House fire started. “I see a very distinct burn pattern here that shows me the fire came from the inside out,” Schenk said. “It just looks like it’s towels.”

The restaurant manager said the night of the fire that they used the dryer just before closing.

“And so when they get thrown in the dryer and left, they’ll continue to spontaneously heat even after the dryer cycle has stopped and people have all left,” said Assistant Chief Robert Bradley, the Olympia fire marshal.

For more:  http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Spontaneous-combustion-deemed-cause-of-Olympia-restaurant-fire-218925741.html?tab=video&c=y

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by | August 5, 2013 · 6:16 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Arkansas Restaurant Closed By Fire And Water Damage Reopens After 8 Months; Business Owners’ Insurance Pays For 80% Of Staff To Be Retained

“…Sixty employees were without work following the fire. The business owners’ insurance coverage allowed the staff to continue earning a Restaurant Fire Riskspaycheck while the restaurant was closed…Calico County partner Scott Blair said they retained about 80 percent of their pre-fire staff and hired about 40 new team members for the re-opening…”

Calico County was forced to shutdown after a fire damaged the restaurant (in the early morning on November 26, 2012)… Police were alerted to the fire after receiving a call from an alarm company that a commercial burglary alarm went off at approximately 2:37 a.m. Monday, according to dispatchers with the Fort Smith Police Department.

Fort Smith police arrived at the scene and alerted the fire department when smoke was seen coming from the building. Fort Smith Department Battalion Chief Tery Graves said responders quickly put out the flames, however, the restaurant suffered severe smoke and water damage. According to a preliminary investigation, the fire appeared to have started in the kitchen area of the restaurant.

For more:  http://5newsonline.com/2013/08/04/popular-fort-smith-restaurant-opens-back-up-after-fire/

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by | July 22, 2013 · 6:35 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Nebraska Restaurant Fire Starts Near Cooler’s Condenser, Spreading Upstairs; Heavy Heat Results In Complete Loss

“…the blaze most likely started near the cooler’s condenser which was under repair and then spread to the NAPA auto store next door, only causing smoke damage while resulting in a complete loss for the restaurant…when the cook went to open the door, flames shot out…the whole Restaurant Fire Risksentire upstairs was probably involved in heavy fire. Made entry and attempted to extinguish that and due to extreme heat (the firefighters) were driven out and changed to a defensive mode…”

An iconic family restaurant in McCook destroyed by fire late Saturday evening must now decide how to move forward. Fullers Restaurant was more than a business, it was a part of the community and something everyone will miss.

“Tried to put it out with a hand extinguisher and then called the fire department and by the time they got set up and everything it was a little later,” said Val Fuller, the owner.

Fuller’s Restaurant employees recount the scene that led to the building’s evacuation late Saturday evening when the McCook Fire Department responded to a call for a structure fire shortly after 8:40 PM. “All of the employees, all of the customers were out and across the alley from the structure,” said Chief Marc Harpham with the McCook Fire Department.

“It was our supper hour, so we had a fairly decent crowd in there and we told them what the situation was and they left,” said Thayer.

Now, owner Fuller must decide how to move forward after losing the restaurant his parents started in 1946.

For more:  http://www.knopnews2.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=8332:more-than-a-restaurant&Itemid=105

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