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Banff’s Mount Royal Hotel to stay closed through summer after fire caused by propane torch

An accident that led to a fire on the roof of the Mount Royal Hotel will have major implications for the downtown Banff landmark.

Brewster Travel Canada vice-president of marketing Mark Hendrikse said it appears the hotel will remain closed through the summer after a fire in the early morning hours last Thursday.

“It hasn’t been an easy time for us, obviously there’s a lot of disappointment,” he said. “It’s not great news.”

Hendrikse said while insurance teams and structural engineers are still on site assessing the damage, it’s extensive enough to presume doors won’t be back open for the hotel and its businesses until the fall.

“It’s a tough thing for us, but it is what it is and when we start feeling bad about that, us as a leadership team and our staff, we all just look back and say you know what, nobody was injured,” he said.

297 guests and staff were evacuated after the rooftop fire, which ended up completely destroying a dozen rooms and also led to water damage.

The Town of Banff said in a statement it was accidental.

“The origin of the fire is placed approximately 25 feet from the west brick wall (facing Banff Avenue) along the south fire wall. The cause of the fire was determined to be a direct flame impingement to combustible material from a propane torch.”

The propane torch came from construction crews which were doing renovation work and accidentally lit some of the material.

It then smoldered for several hours before growing to a full-blown fire, with firefighters from Banff, Canmore, Exshaw and Lake Louise responding.

The guests were all moved to other hotels and while fire crews retrieved important documents including passports to them, the community responded with clothing and restaurant vouchers.

“Although this was a tragic incident, it was a great thing the following days to feel the support and the love from all those in the Banff community,” Hendrikse said.

Brewster Travel has been busy speaking with guests who have reservations spanning from this upcoming weekend all the way to summer, which includes major tourism groups.

“We’ve already started to notify some of our travel trade partners, some of the travel agents and the different tour operators who bring people from across the planet to enjoy Banff,” he said.

The company is also working to relocate the staff of the hotel and its connecting businesses elsewhere in the town.

Statement on the fire from the Town of Banff:

The Town of Banff Fire Department, in cooperation with two investigators representing insurance companies, have determined the following Origin and Cause of the Mount Royal Hotel fire.

Based on interview statements, photographs, video footage and a physical site investigation, the origin of the fire is placed approximately 25 feet from the west brick wall (facing Banff Avenue) along the south fire wall. The cause of the fire was determined to be a direct flame impingement to combustible material from a propane torch.

All hotel guests and personnel were safely evacuated from the hotel. The total number of evacuated people is 297, including guests and staff. There were no injuries.

Attending the fire were 23 firefighters from Town of Banff, 8 from Town of Canmore, 8 from Exshaw (Big Horn MD) and 5 from Lake Louise (ID #9).

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