Fire crews from Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells, Rhayader, Llanwrtyd Wells, Talgarth and Knighton tackled a blaze at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells on Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in the hotel’s laundry room

Firefighters extinguished the fire using ten breathing apparatus, four hose reel jets and four thermal imaging cameras. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service also deployed an Incident Command Unit to the incident. The police were also in attendance.

Firefighting operations ceased at 9.33pm however crews remained on scene overnight to monitor and dampen down hotspots.

A spokesman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the hotel comprised of six floors, above ground, and two basements but that the fire was contained to a laundry room basement, but the smoke had spread to all rear rooms of the hotel.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Fire Service.

Group Manager Craig Thomas, Northern Division Commander for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said “When crews arrived at the scene, they were met with a fully established fire in the laundry room and quickly established that they needed additional resources to contain the fire.

Our firefighters worked extremely well in arduous and complex conditions to extinguish the fire and stop it from spreading to the main hotel.”

An eye witness said that he first started to smell smoke at around 6.30pm and then saw a large number of emergency vehicles at the hotel.Speaking on the Metropole's Facebook page the hotel's owner Justin Baird-Murray said, “So, we’ve had quite a dramatic evening here. About 6.15pm the fire alarms went off, it was just me and Judy here. I went to investigate and our fire panel told us where to go. I went down to the lower ground floor and, sure enough, there was a fire.“It turned out to be quite a serious fire. I phoned the fire brigade, who showed an incredibly swift reaction. The first tender from Llandrindod were on site within 10 minutes, they have done a fantastic job. We had crews from Rhayader, Builth, Talgarth, Llanwrtyd and I think Knighton as well. The fire men and women who have been here have absolutely amazing.” Mr Baird-Murray revealed late last year that due to the Covid lockdowns and their dramatic effect on tourism in Wales, the hotel's turnover was down by some £2.3 million on the year, but struck an optimistic note in his Facebook video.“It’s all quite dramatic but I can assure everybody it’s not the end of the world,” he said.