Camlin Hotel Fire Destroys Lounge

-- Damage was estimated at $250,000 in a fire early this morning in the lounge area on the 11th floor of the WestCoast Camlin Hotel.

Between 110 and 130 hotel guests were evacuated, according to John McCracken, chief operating officer for the hotel at 1619 Ninth Ave. No injuries were reported.

Albert Brooks, spokesman for the Seattle Fire Department, said the fire was accidental and started in a wastebasket in the bar area adjacent to the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel shortly before 1 a.m.

Water to fight the fire came through ``standpipes'' in the hotel walls that feed water from the fire hydrants on the street level, Smalls reported. McCracken said the lounge was destroyed, but there was only smoke damage in the adjoining restaurant.