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Hotel closed for its faulty fire alarm

By SHANNON TAN
Published May 16, 2005

CLEARWATER BEACH - Fire officials, acting on a tip, shut down the Spyglass Resort at 215 S Gulfview Boulevard on Sunday because its fire alarm system wasn't working.

Police also arrested the hotel manager on a charge of tampering with fire suppression or detection equipment, a third-degree felony.

Clearwater Fire Marshal Joel Gray said he told the hotel manager to call the fire alarm company. Moments later, Gray said, he heard noises coming from the system and saw the manager tinkering with the wiring in the fire alarm panel.

"I told him, "Now you've committed a felony in front of me and I've got no option but to enforce the law," Gray recalls.

The eight guests in the 64-room resort were moved to another hotel on the beach, Gray said.

Gray said the resort closed for about 30 days in mid September for renovations to the fire alarm and sprinkler systems.

"The alarm system was in disrepair," Gray said. "The fire pump that pumps the sprinkler system actually caught fire."

An alternative to closing the resort would be to have employees patrol the eight-story building, checking on each area every 15 minutes, Gray said.

A resort employee who answered the phone Sunday said the fire alarm company was fixing the system and hoped the resort would be open by today.

Joe Gentile, who was fired as head of maintenance at the resort Sunday, said he called the Fire Department about the code violations.

Gentile said he was fired because he reported the violations to the hotel manager.

[Last modified May 16, 2005, 01:10:04]