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Updated: 12:34 AM Aug 12, 2008
Hotel Starts to Clean-Up Following Weekend Fire
Police say a Sunday night fire at the Quality Inn on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire caused about $100,000 in damage. That has hotel staff – and a big cleaning crew – scrambling to get everything back to normal. Posted: 12:34 AM Aug 12, 2008Reporter: Meghan Kulig Email Address: meghan.kulig@weau.com |
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Police say a Sunday night fire at the Quality Inn on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire caused about $100,000 in damage. That has hotel staff – and a big cleaning crew – scrambling to get everything back to normal.
"After being here for 40 years I had a number of calls that had been for a fire,” said Quality Inn General Manager and Co-Owner, Chuck Kaiser. “Usually turned out to be a motor or something that was smoking. Something a lot smaller than this."
Still, Kaiser says most of the damage left in the fire’s wake was contained to one area.
"The biggest damage of course is limited to the front desk area, the registration area."
Kaiser says the flames also knocked-out the hotel’s phone and computer system.
"They have removed all the computers to try and see if they can salvage any of those,” Kaiser said. “There was a lot of water damage and smoke damage."
The smoke also got to some of the guest rooms – making Kaiser’s next move an easy one. Getting a cleaning crew in the door!
"I told them, 27,000 square foot building. I need more than 2 guys!”
Bright-and-early Monday morning, nearly 50 workers from Chem-Master, Inc. showed up – to get rid of that smoky smell.
"We are washing the walls, ceilings and we're actually doing the carpets,” said Project Coordinator, Linda Schick.
It is a process Schick says takes some time.
"This amount of space, we'll be here for a few days at least,” she said. “There's a lot of area to cover."
Crews from Chem-Master also cleaned-up the businesses that are connected to the Quality Inn – including KP Katering.
"Fire hasn't really slowed us down too much,” said KP Katering Owner, Matthew Waters. “Back to businesses as usual."
Kaiser says the hotel will re-open guest rooms as they get cleaned-up. He says the Quality Inn still plans to host a scheduled wedding this Saturday.
Eau Claire Police have arrested a man they say started the weekend fire at the Quality Inn.
That person is 26-year-old Brian Mroch. He faces a felony charge of arson and is scheduled to be in court Tuesday morning.
Officers say Mroch was in “some kind of disturbance” at O’Leary’s Pub, which is right next to the Quality Inn, just before the fire started in the hotel lobby.
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