St. Cloud Hotel Fire

To see the photos from the fire, click on each of the links below.
Fire at St. Cloud Hotel	Electric Company turns off power	From the back of the Hotel
Fully Involved	Fire reaches the PNC Bank roof	Storing water to fight the fire
	The fire is finally under control

On behalf of the Mayor and Council, I would like to recognize our Washington Borough Fire Department and the mutual aid companies who assisted in fighting the fire that destroyed the St. Cloud Hotel in downtown Washington yesterday. Remarkably, but of no surprise to us, the Fire Department contained the fire and prevented what could have been a block long fire that would have been devastating to the Washington business district. 

Much praise goes to those police officers, firefighters and members of the emergency squad for heroic acts that helped rescue a number of the residents trapped inside the building and the adjacent roofs when the fire broke out. Their service and dedication to this community and its inhabitants should not go unnoticed.

We must also recognize the Washington Emergency Squad and their mutual aid counterparts who treated and transported residents of the hotel, as well as a few firefighters who succumbed to minor injuries.  

A special thank you to the Red Cross for stepping in to help relocate the 33 displaced residents to available housing throughout the county and for their services they offer during times of disaster. Finally, a special thanks to deputy OEM director Cef Garcia for coordinating some of the efforts.

Marianne Van Deursen
Former Washington Borough Mayor