Fire breaks out at hotel
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 4, 2016 10:48 AM
A fire caused by construction equipment broke out around 3:30 a.m. Thursday at the Goldsboro Suites hotel, which is currently undergoing renovations to become a Home2Suites by Hilton hotel.
Assistant Goldsboro fire chief Eric Lancaster said the fire was spotted by a Goldsboro Police Officer, who was conducting regular patrols and happened across smoke coming from the third floor.
Lancaster said the hotel is replacing its roof with a flat metal roof, and suspects a spark from a cutting torch used to slice the metal got trapped in the insulation and began to smolder.
"When we arrived we saw heavy white smoke caused by the insulation smoldering," Lancaster said. "It started to burn a bit, but the section that burned didn't have a roof and that helped it ventilate."
According to a fire report, the flames were burning inside an interior wall on the third floor.
Firefighters did have to rip out sheet rock from an interior wall on the third floor, and Lancaster said the fire was contained quickly.
Lancaster said the hotel only sustained about $500 worth of damage. The fire did not spread beyond the wall on the third floor, according to the report.
"It was very minor. It could've been a lot worse," Lancaster said.
Renovations on the hotel, located at 2613 N. Park Drive, began in February this year, and are expected to cost around $3 million.