In the end, it looked far worse than it was as fire crews raced to the Lamb Hotel in Ely after a 999 call. Staff and guests evacuated quickly as Cambridgeshire fire and rescue crews dealt with a fire in a tumble dryer on the first floor.
The alarm was raised shortly after 10am and crews from Ely and Soham attended.
A fire service spokesperson said their crews “wearing breathing apparatus, used a hose reel to extinguish the fire and cleared the smoke using a positive pressure ventilation fan.
“The crews returned to their stations by 11.25am.”
The cause of the fire was accidental.
The Lamb Hotel dates back to the 15th century and has 31 en-suite rooms. It is owned by Greene King.
