Big fire in a hotel in 9th near Opera-250 pompiers-50 engines responding.

CNN link:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe...ire/index.html

Just terrible. Paris-Opera Hotel in the 9th.

I heard it on the 11 pm news here in California. Seems like 12 or 13 people dead. Very sad.

The New York Times now says 20 people dead. The one-star hotel housed needy African families. It was probably a fire trap.

What a sad tragedy.

A reminder for all of us, though, to check fire exits when travelling.

I realize now that I've NEVER considered such things when staying in these old European hotels. After this, as soon as we check in I'm going to start looking at exit strategies. I may even add a nylon rope to my travel accessories.

How very sad, my thoughts are with the families of those who were lost.

I was in Paris in January and our air/hotel package included a transfer to our hotel in the 9th. The driver got confused and mistakenly took us to the Paris-Opera. I told him of the mistake and he took us to the right hotel. From what little I could tell, the Paris-Opera looked like a pretty decent place for a one star. And now it's gone, and tragically, so are many people.

A Canadian news report said that a fire services spokesman said "the building's fire safety measures had been checked as recently as a month ago."

We saw smoke detectors in the hallway of our hotel but there is only one stairwell in it as well, a very common situation I imagine. Don't forget the technique of knotting clothing or sheets to use in going out a window, and roll wet towels and stuff under the door to block smoke.