Bournemouth hotel fire: guests evacuated from The Grove Hotel

The man aged in his 40s has been taken to hospital for treatment following a fire at The Grove Hotel.

Emergency services were called to the incident in Grove Road early on Sunday morning, February 4.

Guests were alerted to the fire by an alarm and evacuated to the neighbouring hotel, The Celebrity.

Ken Robins, who owns the Hotel Celebrity and manages The Grove Hotel, said: “Everyone was evacuated very quickly, and the fire and ambulance service arrived soon after they were called.”

Gurtej Virdi was staying at The Grove Hotel and was visiting Bournemouth for a gig on Saturday night.

Gurtej said: “I initially didn’t believe it was real.

“Then I realised that we needed to get out.”

The guests were interviewed by the police and told they would have to wait at the Hotel Celebrity whilst investigations were carried out.

Hotel guest Conor Worsell said: “We haven’t been given a time frame; it could be up to 24 hours.

“It’s frustrating; we just want to get our stuff and go home.”

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service received reports of the fire at 6.06am.

Five fire crews from Springbourne, Redhill, Christchurch, and Poole attended to put out the fire, which is understood to have been contained to one hotel room.

The fire was dealt with by around 7.20am.

A cordon was put in place and detectives are liaising with the fire service to establish the full circumstances of the incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Bell of BCP CID said: “Our enquiries into this incident remain ongoing, and I am appealing to anyone who saw or heard any suspicious activity in the area to please come forward.

“Also, I would like to hear from any residents or motorists in the wider area who may have captured anything of relevance on home CCTV or dashcams that may assist my investigation.”

Police said the cause of the fire has not been confirmed at this time.

Anyone with information can contact Dorset Police quoting occurrence number 55240017893.