Cheeca Burns…Part II
The main building at Cheeca Lodge Resort and Spa in Islamorada caught fire for the second time this year around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Keys fire officials. Islamorada Fire Chief William Wagner, who was in Key West but was monitoring the situation by radio, said three firefighters were transported to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier during the response – one for a sprained ankle, one for a cardiac issue and another for possible smoke inhalation. All were reported to be OK later that day.
The cause of the fire appeared to be accidental, according to assistant Islamorada Fire Chief Bruce Stoll. He reported that the fire started on the outside of the building and spread into a stairwell. Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department Chief Sergio Garcia said firefighters had the fire under control by 1 p.m. but were checking the building for flare-ups and were removing part of a stairwell. Fire and rescue crews from Key Largo to Big Pine Key responded.
Jim Costello, resort manager at Cheeca, said a demolition crew accidentally started the fire while cutting into a metal roof with a cutting torch. Sparks from the torch flew and accidentally caught the old thatch roof on fire, Costello said. Costello said the fire was contained quickly and won’t impact the resort’s plans to reopen by the end of the year.
Zirkelbach said the fire started somewhere along the northeast corner of the building opposite the starting point of the New Year’s Eve fire that severely damaged the structure and closed the resort. Zirkelbach said he heard reports that a welder’s torch ignited the fire somewhere on the fourth floor, but fire officials would not confirm it. Wagner said it appeared the fire could have started on a long thatch roof overhanging what used to be an outside dining area on the side of the building facing the ocean.
A thatched overhang on the north side of the building was the source of the first fire that is believed to have been sparked by an ember. The main building housed administrative offices, a lobby, two restaurants, bars, a conference center and 49 guest rooms.
“I’m just really distraught, how it could catch fire again,” said Wagner, who since the first fire has worked with other Keys fire officials to push for more stringent permit requirements for fire retardant on thatched structures. Wagner said his department hadn’t pushed for Cheeca to check its retardant on the ocean-side thatch, which was partially burned in the first fire, because Cheeca had planned to demolish and rebuild the structure. “They were going to demolish the building, so there was no reason to push the issue,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of a big mess and drama.”
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Holiday Isle Resort and Marina, a major hotel resort in Islamorada, is in foreclosure after lenders filed to recover $77 million loaned on an aborted condotel conversion. VII Holiday Isle Funding LLC, a subsidiary of Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group, filed against several companies affiliated with West Palm Beach developer Adam Schlesinger, and his company, Ceebraid Signal.
Many repeat visitors to the Florida Keys often dream about owning a vacation or permanent residence in the subtropical island chain. That dream is to become a reality for someone when Home and Garden Television awards a luxury residence in Islamorada to the winner of its 2008 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway contest set to begin Jan. 1.