Hundreds of sleeping guests got an early morning wake up call.
(SALEM) - Hotel guests at the Phoenix Grand Hotel in Salem were roused from their sleep early Sunday morning when the hotel's fire alarm system was activated. Guests on the second floor reported smoke in the corridor on their floor.
Salem Firefighters received the call for a commercial fire at 201 Liberty Street SE at 5:26 AM on Sunday according to Spokesman Bill Holmstrom. Hotel guests told first the arriving firefighters that the second floor was full of smoke.
Firefighters investigated the second floor and determined that the smoke hotel guests' saw was actually dust from a fully discharged fire extinguisher.
No other problems were found as firefighters searched other floors. Guests were allowed back into their rooms about 20 minutes after the incident began.
Holmstrom says the incident appears to be an illegal prank by someone. They say they aren't sure who was responsible for the prank.
Salem Police are conducting an investigation. Hotel staff told them that someone pulled all the fire extinguishers from the cabinets on the 2nd and 3rd floors just last weekend.
Prank Causes the Early Morning Evacuation of 340 People From the Phoenix Grand HotelSalem-News.com