 Poster: A snowHead
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 The Temple du Soleil and Pierre et Vacances building next door, were evacuated completely, in the early hours of this morning. Fortunately there were no victims.
350 guests and employees in the 12 storey building were rapidly evacuated and rehoused around the resort... some in the neighbouring Club Med hotel which was damaged by a fire at the start of the season.
The fire broke out around 1.30 am. As fire began to spread, neighbours who noticed the first sign of flames phoned the emergency services. 70 firemen rushed to the scene, from as far away as Albertville and Moutiers.
At 7 this morning the blaze had still not been completely extinguished.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hope it didn't melt to much snow.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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How fortunate that no-one was injured. Any suggestion of a link between this fire and the previous one nearby ?
In a Crystal hotel in Belle Plagne 2 years ago, we had a couple of false alarms. Although the Crystal staff were 99% sure they knew what had set off the fire alarm, and that there was really no danger, everyone was evacuated both times. Not funny for sleeping kids to suddenly find themselves hustled outdoors in PJs and a blanket at well below zero temperatures. But I have to give the Crystal people credit for following correct procedures. Take any alarms seriously, snowHeads. And in a multi-storey building, it's well worth checking where the emergency staircase(s) are located. You never know .....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Some more details - the origin of this latest blaze has yet to be determined. The above-mentioned fire at the Val Thorens Club Med on November 11th last year was thought to have been started deliberately, with 13 people hospitalised as a result of smoke inhalation in the earlier incident.
Contradicting an earlier report, apparently the fire was in a separate part of the building to the Pierre et Vacances residence, and originated in the kitchens of an independent restaurant, "La Grange" on the ground floor of the "Temple du Soleil" building - which together with the Pierre et Vacances residence, had to be evacuated. New figures suggest 350 people were involved in the evacuation.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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There are not having a good week in three valleys apart from the terrific snow conditions that is. I was in Meribel for the weekend and there was an earthquake on Sunday morning at 10.00am the centre of the quake being near Meribel Motarret. Measured 3.0 on the scale.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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PG,
With 60cms of fresh powder the earth certainly did move for me! 
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The fire must have been a terrible experience - ruining your holiday, destruction of all your ski kit, etc. Glad everyone got out OK.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Bloody hell, my second ever ski holiday back in 1986ish was in the Temple du Soleil in VT! On the way I crossed the channel on the Herald of Free Enterprise as well...
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I stayed there in 1988, the place was a rabbit warren I wouldn't want to be there in an emergency. Fantastic that they were able to evacuate and handle it efficiently. I feel sorry for those who lost everything and weren't able to pick up their credit cards on the way out to at least buy some clothes to get home etc. Who would you claim off you holiday insurance or the hotels insurance.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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That reminds me, a fire broke out in the small hours of Sunday morning in the centre of Arc 1800, the Miravidi building. Just a few studios affected on the sixth floor, one completely burnt out (the pompiers smashed the bay window and chucked all the furniture out, along with the cooker, washing machine, etc.  )
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| PG wrote: |
| (the pompiers smashed the bay window and chucked all the furniture out, along with the cooker, washing machine, etc. ) |
Were they fire-fighting or looting?
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| kuwait_ian wrote: |
How fortunate that no-one was injured. Any suggestion of a link between this fire and the previous one nearby ?
In a Crystal hotel in Belle Plagne 2 years ago, we had a couple of false alarms. Although the Crystal staff were 99% sure they knew what had set off the fire alarm, and that there was really no danger, everyone was evacuated both times. Not funny for sleeping kids to suddenly find themselves hustled outdoors in PJs and a blanket at well below zero temperatures. But I have to give the Crystal people credit for following correct procedures. Take any alarms seriously, snowHeads. And in a multi-storey building, it's well worth checking where the emergency staircase(s) are located. You never know ..... |
Definitely. The first thing to do when you get into a hotel room is plan your escape route and make sure you're aware of the landmarks (how many doorways, corners, etc.) so you find your way in a smoke filled corridor (probably on your hands and knees). Walk it and read the diagram on the back of your room door - that way you've covered the distances and you can picture it in your mind. In some more liassez-faire countries, you may want to check that the fire door opens as well.
There's plenty of people who've died in hotel fires who would have survived if they'd spent a couple of minutes doing this when they first get there.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
In some more liassez-faire countries, you may want to check that the fire door opens as well.
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Responding to a fire alarm I walked down 12 stories of fire escape staircase once in a 5* hotel in Cairo only to find that the bottom door to the outside was locked. And it was not easy to get back onto a corridor since the heavy fire doors were only opening into the escape stairwell and had no handles on the inside. Did I give reception hell when I got out of there - you bet.
Lighter note - the Crystal one was caused by a rate-of-rise detector in a staff room. The whole hotel apart from the bar was no smoking so they hadn't used smoke detectors in the rooms. Being full of sweaty socks, smelly ski gear etc, one guy used to leave the window wide open all day, cooling the room right down. Then before going out of an evening, he'd close the window and have a hot shower. The steam and sudden rise of temperature in the room causing the rate-of-rise detector to give a false alarm 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Plake wrote: |
| Bloody hell, my second ever ski holiday back in 1986ish was in the Temple du Soleil in VT! On the way I crossed the channel on the Herald of Free Enterprise as well... |
Remind me not to buy a used car from you.
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FAQ
