Marriott evacuated

Half of the Marco Island Marriott Resort is still without power as hotel officials scramble to accommodate guests displaced by an electrical fire Monday that left one man hospitalized.

Photo by Ed Bania, Eagle staff
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Marco Island Fire-Rescue Department fire fighters enter the hotel entrance of the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort on Jan. 29. An electrical panel caught on fire and sent smoke billowing through the tower.

A small explosion occurred injuring the worker and sending smoke throughout the building.

The Marco Island Fire Department received the call at 2:42 p.m. and responded two minutes later.

The worker has been transported to Naples Community Hospital, Marco Fire Division Chief Jeff Kutzke said.

Four hotel guests were treated on the scene for minor smoke inhalation, Marco Fire Chief Mike Murphy said.

The fire cut power to both Marriott towers and forced the hotel, which was at its 732-room capacity, to evacuate its guests.

Photo by Ed Bania, Eagle staff
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An unidentified guest of the Marco Island Marriott Resort was taken to a Collier County EMS vehicle and treated for smoke inhalation Monday afternoon. A private contractor was burned when an electrical panel caught fire.

The hotel has since been able to restore power and allow guests to return to the 318-room North Tower. The South Tower, which includes the lobby and 414 rooms, is operating under emergency power and does not expect to have full power restored until Tuesday, said Rick Medwedeff, the hotel's general manager.

Two emergency generators were expected to arrive by 10 p.m., Medwedeff said.

Damage, Medwedeff said, is limited mainly to the electrical panel that serves the South Tower.

"There's not a big amount of fire damage," he said. "You'd just see a panel that's burnt. But it's an important panel."

The Marriott has provided bottled water and glow sticks to its guests and is accommodating those who want to stay at a different hotel. So far, the Hilton's Beach Resort on Marco and the Ritz-Carlton in Naples have made rooms available with three more hotels on standby should enough guests want to switch, Medwedeff said. The South Tower does have hot water.

In addition to the fire occurring in the height of tourist season on Marco, the hotel is hosting the annual conference of the Association of Account Executives with 650 people from across the country.

"With these situations, there's never a good time for them to happen," Medwedeff said. "But we're pretty much full so this has not been easy."

Kutzke said that North Naples, East Naples, Isles of Capri and the Marco Island Fire Departments in addition to Collier County Emergency Medical Services responded. He estimated that 35 firefighters were on scene.