The manager of Ireland’s Aga Khan show jumping team has told of his shock when his fridge exploded in the early hours of the morning at the Burlington Hotel (DT Hotel).
All hotel guests were evacuated from after a fire broke out in the 6th floor room and emergency services were called to the scene at about 5.20am.
Robert Splaine was uninjured when the gas canister at the back of the empty fridge exploded causing the room to be filled with a “very pungent odour”. He was asleep in the room with his son when the incident took place.
“It was a bit of a shock to hear such a loud sound so close but when we switched on the light we could see no signs of what might have caused the explosion,” he said. However the room soon fulled with a pungent odour and the staff evacuated the hotel, he said.
The blaze was a “minor incident” which “which led to the hotel being evacuated as a precautionary measure and the authorities alerted immediately”,said the Dublin DT Hotel in a statement.
Four Dublin Fire Brigade appliances and two ambulances attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Dublin Fire Brigade said in a statement that it attended a "minor incident" at the hotel and a "very small fire occurred in one of the rooms which was brought under control immediately". It said "no persons were injured or brought to hospital."
Mr Splaine praised the “marvellous” work of the emergency services. He was given another room on returning to the hotel. “No-one was hurt and by the time it was all over it was time to get up anyway, so we didn’t get any more sleep. It’s lucky that both my son and I are early risers,”he said.
The statement said the safety of guests and team members was a “priority” and they were able to re-enter the building “within the hour”. “ There were no injuries or real damage to the property and the hotel is operating as normal,” the statement said.
Horse Sport Ireland’s Irish team account tweeted: “Just to confirm that all Irish Riders and team personnel are fine at the Burlington following temporary evacuation at around 5.30am”.
Irish international show jumper Trevor Breen was also woken early and tweeted: “Got a very early morning call by fire alarm and evac at Burlington hotel. All fine tho #phew #needmoresleep”.
Mr Splaine will manage Ireland’s Aga Khan team when they try to repeat their 2012 win on Friday at the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show at Ballsbridge.
