Massena Quality Inn remains closed for work, inspections

MASSENA — The Massena Quality Inn remained closed Tuesday, a day after a fire in the hotel’s electrical room, and the general manager said he doesn’t have a firm timeline yet on when they’ll reopen their doors.

“We’re not open today or tomorrow,” Lee G. Stevens said Tuesday. “Today we’re gathering whatever equipment we need to get going. We’re still trying to get electricity on in the entire building. We’re hoping (to be open) by this weekend.”

Once the electricity is back on, he said, they will need inspections from Massena Code Enforcement Officer Gregory C. Fregoe, as well as the county and state Departments of Health before they can reopen to visitors.

Also, Mr. Stevens said, “We have to get some cleaners in here,” and their insurance company will need to come back for a re-inspection.

“The insurance company was here. They’ll have to come back and take a look,” he said. “We’re getting there. It’s not as simple as turning the electricity back on.”

The hotel, 10 W. Orvis St., and Dar’s Place, which is inside the hotel, were closed Monday after firefighters responded to an early morning report of smoke originating in the hotel’s electrical room. Employees had noticed flickering lights and the smell of smoke shortly after 6 a.m. and called Mr. Stevens and 911.

The Fire Department was called to the scene at 6:18 a.m.; by 8 a.m., firefighters were hooking up exhaust fans to remove smoke from the electrical room, and they returned to their station by 9:59 a.m. Mutual aid was provided by the Louisville Fire Department and Seaway Valley Ambulance, and the Norfolk and Brasher-Winthrop departments were on standby.

St. Lawrence County fire officials labeled the incident as electrical and said there was only minor damage in the electrical room. There were 55 occupants in the hotel at the time of the emergency, and they were evacuated to Emmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ, 39 W. Orvis St. That process took about 30 to 45 minutes.

Guests were later allowed to return to the hotel to collect their belongings. Mr. Stevens said those who had reservations for upcoming days are being routed to other local hotels with the assistance of Choice Hotels.

With a hockey tournament in town this weekend, he said, that will mean the loss of some business from customers who had reserved rooms.

“We will lose something, but I’m confident our regular customers will come back,” he said.

In the meantime, they’ll continue to work on getting the hotel back open for those customers.

“It’s on a day-by-day basis. We’re hoping for this weekend, but it’s not set in stone,” Mr. Stevens said.