What we know about the fire at Hotel Vermont in Burlington

Guests had to flee their beds at a high-end Burlington hotel Tuesday night after a fire engulfed the roof of their hotel.

Just before 9 p.m., the Burlington firefighters responded to reports of a fire on top of Hotel Vermont that sits just along the edge of Lake Champlain. Officials have not commented directly to the Free Press confirming the origin of the blaze. 

No injuries have been reported at this time. 

A person staffing the hotel's front desk on Wednesday morning said everything in the hotel was fine and they are up and running. They said the fire had to do with the ventilation system and was confined to the restaurant on the other side of the building, referring to Hen of the Wood (not to be confused with Juniper, which is inside Hotel Vermont). 

After the fire at Hen of the Wood

A man walking into the restaurant, Hen of the Wood, told a Free Press reporter, "The restaurant is destroyed." 

He identified himself as an employee of the restaurant but declined to provide his full name. He added that the damage did not affect "the inside."

A Free Press reporter noted that the dining room looked unscathed, but the dishes and food from the previous night's interrupted dinner service remained.

"We got a lot of work to do," the man said. "I wouldn't bother anyone for a minute."

The man and a companion holding a headlight and screwdriver then walked into the restaurant, leaving the reporter standing on ash-covered Cherry Street.

Owner Eric Warnstedt told the Free Press Wednesday morning that the restaurant was not destroyed as an employee previously said. 

"The restaurant itself is totally fine. Most likely the hood system is destroyed and will need to be replaced. The lead time and installation is unknown," Warnstedt stated.

What sparked the flames

The running theory of Burlington firefighters is that a spark from the wood-fired oven may have caught on a build-up of residue in the vents, according to Deputy Chief Pete Brown.

The fire was located in a ventilation shaft that connects the kitchen of Hen of the Wood to Hotel Vermont, the ductwork runs next to a stairwell throughout the hotel, Brown told the Free Press on Wednesday morning. 

The shaft can contain a fire for up to two hours to prevent the spread of the flames to the rest of the hotel, he said. 

An official cause has not yet been determined, but the preliminary investigation has led authorities to deem it an accident, Brown said.  

At the same time as the fire on top of Hotel Vermont, a second fire engulfed a front porch on Pearl Street that Colchester, South Burlington, and Winooski Fire Departments assisted with the response. 

This story may be updated. 

Contact Sawyer Loftus at 802-660-1860 or sloftus@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @sawyerloftus18.