Laundry room fire forces evacuation at Plantation hotel, no injuries

Heavy smoke from a third-floor laundry room at the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale City of Plantation sent guests into the hallways Tuesday night at 7780 SW 6th Street in Plantation. Plantation Fire Rescue moved quickly into the building, found multiple laundry carts burning and evacuated the hotel before knocking down the flames.

Firefighters kept the blaze from spreading beyond the service area, and the damage was limited to the laundry room. No injuries were reported, and guests were later allowed back into their rooms once crews secured the scene.

The hotel, listed by Marriott as the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale City of Plantation, sits in a busy part of Plantation near major local destinations and event traffic. Marriott says the property includes a fitness center, an outdoor pool, The Bistro, a sundries shop and 3 event rooms with 1,548 square feet of total event space, making it both an overnight stop and a meeting venue where a small fire can interrupt more than just sleep.

Plantation Fire Rescue operates from the city’s fire department headquarters at 550 NW 65th Avenue in Plantation, and the city says the department provides fire and EMS/rescue services. Tuesday night’s response showed how fast an ordinary hotel service area can turn into a building-wide evacuation, especially for travelers who may not know the exits, alarm system or stairwells as well as they know their own homes.

For guests checking into any hotel room, the first minutes matter. Locate the nearest exit, note the stairwell, look for the posted evacuation map and listen for alarms before settling in. At the Plantation hotel, that kind of quick response helped turn a smoky third-floor fire into a contained incident instead of a larger emergency.