By Isle of Wight ObserverA fire has broken out at two hotels in Sandown.
The fire started at around 11am on Sunday (September 2).
Eye witnesses say the fire started at the Tarvic 2 Hotel and spread to the St Moritz in Culver Parade.
Six fire appliances, police and the Ambulance Service are all in attendance.
The Rejuvenate Sandown Facebook group posted the images below at around 11.10am.
It references the Tarvic 2 hotel as the origin of the fire and says Culver Parade has been closed whilst Firefighters attend the blaze.
Wendy Chambers, an eye witness said: “It started as what seemed a small fire, then within a few minutes it got really big just over the top from my veranda on Avenue Road. Lots of thick smoke, people moving there cars. My husband said it looks like it was caused by piles of rubbish. The hotel was evacuated but it seemed to take a while before fire engines arrived.”
Images on social media show at least two fire engines in attendance with people watching the blaze from the beach.
It appears that the Tarvic 2’s roof is on fire from social media images.
Mrs Chambers added at 11.46am: “My husband thought it was the St Moritz but maybe Tarvic as well. It’s just getting under control now fire engines all over now.
“Still burning lots of smoke again, I can hear things popping.”
Mrs Chambers said at 11.49am: “Oh God, it’s getting worse.”
Sue Wilkins said at 11.52am: “I’m upstairs in Dinosaur Isle. There are massive flames coming up out of the top.”
See footage of the Tarvic 2 well alight in the video below:
Sue Wilkins shot the below image from distance at Dinosaur Isle.
The scene outside the hotel was captured by Ben Cairns. It shows two fire engines attending the blaze at the Tarvic 2 Hotel. People appear to have gathered to watch the blaze.
Mrs Chambers said it looks as though the whole hotel is “going up” and the roads leading to it have been closed.
The Hotel Maria could also be at risk from the and the fire service are now concentrating efforts on the St Moritz Hotel says eye witness Colin Midmore at 12.05pm.
Mrs Chambers said at 12.09pm: “One of the neighbours said they heard a fire alarm go off at 6.30am but it stopped, so don’t know what that was.”
Rejuvenate Sandown said at 12.11pm: “Four or five engines and the control unit are here. Now using the aerial ladder, started in the new extension of Tarvic 2 between 10:30am and 11am now spread onto the St Moritz. Hotel Maria is evacuated. The whole area is closed off.”
Rejuvenate Sandown said at 12.17pm that the fire is “not under control and getting worse”.
The video below shows the situation as it stands at around 12.20pm.
Mr Midmore said at 12.30pm: “Six fire appliances here. Main ground mounted hose concentrating on Tarvic 2 elevated platform damping down St Moritz.
“Most smoke from the rear of the buildings now.”
The police and the Ambulance Service are now on site.
Rejuvenate Sandown said at 12.49pm: “At the minute, it seems to have calmed a bit. Lots of smoke but no sight or sound of the fire.”
Below is a video showing the scene as it is at 1pm.
Jane Midmore, an eye witness, says the fire is beginning to look as though its under control at 1.08pm.
Three ambulances and three fire engines have been spotted leaving the Red Funnel Ferry terminal in East Cowes according to Liz Watson, who took the picture below.
Pictures below are from the scene at at around 1.18pm.
At 3pm, Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue incident commander Jeff Walls said: “We were called to an incident that started on the ground floor in between two hotels that has rapidly escalated to effect the hotels either side of that.
“The roads have been shut off in this area and we appreciate members of the public supporting us with that and trying not encroach on the area.
“We’ve eight fire engines here, two aerial appliances and our command unit, so this is quite a large scale incident for us.
“As a result of the resources we’ve got here, we’ve called on our colleagues from Hampshire they’ve have brought pumps over from the mainland which are covering the rest of the Island while we are dealing with this incident.
“As it stands at the moment we’ve largely knocked back the fire fighting, so we’ve reduced the level of threat from the fire. Anyone in land from Sandown we’ve asked if people can shut windows and stuff because there is some smoke still passing that way.
“This is quite a large incident and I can see it ongoing for the next couple of hours.”
The fire service has around 50 personnel on scene but hope to reduce those numbers soon.
Isle of Wight Council emergency planning officers are helping to rehouse those affected by the hotel fires. The hotels will not be used in the immediate future.
No one was injured and everyone is accounted for, fire investigators are working to establish the cause of the blaze.
A spokesman for South Central Coast Ambulance Service said: “We have sent our full Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) over to the Island on the ferry following a request received for their support from the fire service.
“There are no reported casualties that we’re aware of currently but due to the scale of the fire and the number of appliances and firefighters in attendance it is normal practice for HART to provide medical cover at such large scale incidents.”
The Tarvic 2 Hotel, St Moritz and The Hotel Maria has been contacted for comment.
Isle of Wight Observer