Fire in St. Maarten destroys former hotel

Thursday, October 9, 2003

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten: Fire yesterday raced through a former hotel set for demolition in St. Maarten's main tourist district then spread to an adjacent hotel that luckily was temporarily closed. No injuries were, however, reported, according to AP.

The four-story building on Front Street, which once housed the St. Maarten Beach Club hotel, had been an eyesore for years and the government had ordered its owners to demolish it several months ago, AP said. But three jewelry shops and one optical business were still operating on the ground floor. All four were destroyed.

The fire then spread to the adjacent 54-room Holland House Beach Hotel, where several rooms were destroyed and others were damaged. It was unclear what started the blaze.

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