Category: Newport
Posted inNews

Newport Fire Department on the scene of a four alarm fire at The Wayfinder Hotel

by Ryan Belmore

Newport Fire Department and mutual from several towns are on the scene of a four-alarm structure fire at 151 Kalbfus Road, The Wayfinder Hotel.

The call came in at approximately 8:05 pm, according to Newport Fire Department Chief Harp Donnelly.

Early on, Incident Command reported a heavy fire between floors.

Around approximately 9 pm, Incident Command ordered firefighters out of the building due to a collapse/compromise on the second floor.

Ladder crews were conducting roof ventilation and crews were reportedly ordered to take a defensive approach.

At approximately 9:08 pm, Incident Command was reporting a “section of roof collapsing.”

At 9:12 pm, a fourth alarm was struck for the fire, calling for four more engine companies and two additional ladder companies.

RIDOT camera view as of 9:12 pm.
RIDOT camera view as of 9:32 pm.

As of 9:38 pm, Incident Command was ordering three additional tanker trucks to the scene, two are responding from Jamestown and one from Middletown.

At approximately 9:50 pm it was reported by the command that heavy fire is throughout the hotel, and crews are conducting defensive operations only.

RIDOT Cam at 9:52 pm.

As of 9:55 pm, the City of Warwick had three engines and a rescue covering the City of Newport for any other emergency calls.

North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Naval Station Newport, East Greenwich, and Narragansett are among the fire department’s on-scene assisting Newport with the fire.

In an update to reporters, Chief Donnelly said the hotel was evacuated immediately, and that there were no casualties, and there were no injuries.

Donnelly said there was no indication of what caused the fire at this time and firefighters on the scene were working to try to keep the fire contained to the right side of the building at this time.

At 11:06 pm, Incident Command reported that floor three was compromised and that fire was heavy on floors 2 and 3.

At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown. No injuries have been reported. What’sUpNewp has reached out to authorities for comment.

The Wayfinder, a 115,000-square-foot hotel and conference center, includes 195 guest rooms, a lobby, fitness center, an outdoor pool, pool shack, a full-service restaurant, cafe, and new meeting and event spaces.

Dovetail + Co., a hotel ownership and development company led by Phil Hospod, purchased the hotel for $14.34 million in 2019 from Atlantic Beach Hospitality Group.

This story is developing and will be updated as we learn more.

Incident Updates on Twitter

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March 21, 2021 – Owner of Wayfinder Hotel in Newport acquires hotel in Hawaii, will open as Wayfinder Waikiki

June 3, 2020 – The Wayfinder Hotel, Nomi Park open

Jan. 10, 2020 – Haynes Group tapped to transform The Mainstay Hotel & Conference Center into The Wayfinder

Jan. 30, 2019 – Mainstay Hotel sells for $14.34 million (UPDATED)