Firefighters respond to reports of smoke coming from downtown Nashville high-rise
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — First responders fought a fire inside a downtown Nashville high-rise Sunday afternoon after smoke was seen coming from the top of a hotel.
News 2 received multiple photos showing plumes of smoke on the roof of the JW Marriott in the 200 block of 8th Avenue South.
According to Metro Nashville dispatch, more than 20 units were sent to reports of a high-rise fire at the hotel between 3:39 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26.
WATCH: News 2 speaks with Nashville fire official about incident at JW Marriott
Dispatch told News 2 that police believed the smoke was coming from an exhaust pipe at the top of the building.
News 2 sent a crew down to the scene, where they spoke with District 9 Chief Chris Downing from the Nashville Fire Department.
According to Downing, the heavy smoke on the roof was the result of a kitchen fire at Bourbon Steak Nashville, a restaurant on the 34th floor of the JW Marriott. However, there are no reports of injuries from the fire.
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“We were able to extinguish the flames quickly, and then we were in the process of the fire had gotten into the ventilation system, so we were chasing down the hot spots and doing some work from the roof and the 34th floor to make sure that we got everything out,” Downing explained.
Downing said crews train extensively to respond to high-rise fires, including life-like drills they perform at various buildings downtown.
“It’s a huge area, it takes a lot of firefighters, so you have to have a lot of organization about it, we have to set up different divisions,” Downing said. “It’s very exhausting on the firemen. They train for it, but it’s still probably one of the harder things that we do when there is an actual fire like this.”
According to the District 9 chief, guests were able to shelter in place while firefighters responded to the incident.
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Meanwhile, the JW Marriott sent the following statement to News 2 about the fire Sunday night:
A fire alarm was triggered by excessive smoke earlier today on our 34th floor where Bourbon Steak is located. We are happy to share that the incident was quickly and safely resolved with no injuries.
The safety and security of our guests is our utmost priority so we will be closing this evening to make the necessary adjustments in anticipation of being fully operational tomorrow.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our guests, staff, and neighbors.
JW Marriott Nashville
No additional details have been released about this incident.
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