Regina hotel fire suspicious, causes $500K damage

Guests at Regina's Quality Hotel Inn were roused early Sunday morning when a fire broke out in the back of the building.

The hotel at 1717 Victoria Avenue was evacuated at about 5:40 a.m. CST when a fire that started in a dumpster spread up some wooden pallets and a grease bin into a main-floor conference room.

Fire officials told CBC News nearly 200 people were forced to leave the hotel after flames also spread up to the fourth floor on the outside of the building, which caused a lot of heavy smoke inside.

The fire was put out in less than an hour and fans set up to clear the smoke, at which point guests were allowed back inside.

Deputy Chief Gerard Kay said the fire is being looked at as suspicious, adding that a dumpster fire doesn't just start on its own. He said they will also be looking into why the pallets and grease bin were piled so close to the building.

"Our investigator is on scene and is going to have a look at that to make sure … was that to code and why was there that amount of fuel load directly adjacent to the hotel," he said.

The damage to the building is estimated at about $500,000. No one was hurt in the fire.