Ramada Plaza Firefighters - 2-12-19

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A fire official says an alarm system at a Jeffersontown hotel did not sound an audible alert when a fire broke out early Tuesday morning.

Jeffersontown Fire Chief Sean F. Dreisbach says the fire at the Ramada Plaza off Plantside Drive, was reported by an employee of the nearby Bachman Chevrolet dealership sometime after 5 a.m. 

When firefighters arrived, they encountered flames from an unoccupied room on the second floor. 

A total of 13 rooms were occupied, Dreisbach said. Several people were evacuated from their rooms.

Dreisbach says the flames spread to the third floor, and there's smoke and water damage on the second, third and fourth floors. 

Dreisbach says the alarm system appears to have malfunctioned, and did not sound an audible alarm, which he called very concerning. 

"We had to make evacuations manually," Dreisbach said. "The building's actual alarm system is malfunctioning, and wasn't actually able to give a type of verbal warning to anybody inside the building, so there was no sound going off inside. We saw smoke detectors flashing, but no sound."

Dreisbach says fire officials are trying to determine what went wrong with the alarm system. He says he believes that part of the hotel was under renovation.

There is still no word on an exact cause of the fire, but the hotel's manager says the hotel's guests received a refund as well as free rooms at a different hotel. 

Firefighters from Jeffersontown, St. Matthews and Middletown responded to the fire. 

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