By Clyde Mooney
Lansdowne Hotel owner Ben Walsh has spoken exclusively to TheShout after the Sydney pub was saved this morning from a fire in the accommodation rooms upstairs.
Photo by Kevin Kim
Fire crews rushed to the live music venue around 8am this morning in response to a fire alarm, to fight flames coming from the third floor balcony.
There were initial reports that residents were trapped inside the rooms, but all have been safely evacuated and the fire extinguished.
"The fire was restricted to the boarding rooms, and thankfully nobody was injured," owner/operator, Ben Walsh told TheShout.
"Crews are now going through assessing the damage."
Police on the scene confirmed that the building is closed, pending investigation into the cause of the fire.
Walsh said he believed it may have started in a waste paper bin, but cannot speculate further. [continues below]
"The pub will probably be closed for up to two weeks," he said.
"Despite reports, there was actually not a lot of fire damage – it is all cosmetic. The main problem is water damage to all floors."
The fire comes at an inconvenient time for the hotel operators, who are currently seeking approval for an expansion of its beer garden and an increase in capacity.
"I guess we'll just have to see how that goes in coming weeks," Walsh said.