Near Death Escape for Roddick and Others...

[Paul_G]

Just gone onto the BBC website and seen that Roddick and other players escaped a fire in a hotel which killed 3 people!

Well my thoughts go out to their families, and I'm glad that everyone else was able to escape, check the link for the full story!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/3676623.stm

[Feña14]

That sounds pretty bad!

We all know that Roddick is a nice person of the court, nobody can stand him on the court.

It was nice of him to help all the people onto the roof.

I bet it was a sight seeing Schalken coming down in a crane! at least he's safe!

Liam

[Paul_G]

Yea it was good of him to help but who wouldnt in a situation like that I know I defo would!

Sounds like an arsen attempt by all account.

[Ronaldo]

Safin supposedly lost nearly all his gear and couldn't practice today.

[Feña14]

Yeah I don't know anyone who wouldn't of helped really.

Liam

[Feña14]

Yes I heard that Safin lost most of his equipment.

Head might give him some REAL LM Prestiges to use!!!

Liam

[don knot]

like ronaldo said, a lot of players lost equipment, racquets, and gear. I wonder if any of these players will pull out of the tournament thus making it a "ghost town" with the already absence of coria and ferrero. I feel for those who were lost in this accident.

[tykrum]

I think its one thing to know that you are a nice person and would want to help in a situation like that, but Im sure its a whole nother thing to actually be in a situation like that where there is a disasterous blaze, and you think to help others instead of just worrying about yourself. I don't know the extent that he helped people out of the building obviously, but I would have to say that this is a pretty heroic feat that Roddick did, and I wouldn't belittle it by saying that who wouldn't help in a potentially life-threatening situation. Props to Roddick for thinking about others more than himself in a dangerous time.

[sseemiller]

I agree with the post above. People died in the fire, and it was pretty scary, and for Andy to get involved in saving folks speaks well of him. He could have left it to the firefighters. None of us was there, and to minimize his efforts is a bit unkind, given the severity of the circumstances.

[perfmode]

Looks like he still had time to save his twelve pack bag.

[chad shaver]

Unless the hotel burned to the ground, I would imagine that their belongings were removed once the situation was deemed relatively safe.

[pound cat]

Here's a factual report of the fire from CBC (Canada) They are known for their accuracy.



2 Canadians killed in Rome hotel fire
Last Updated Sat, 01 May 2004 15:19:57 EDT
ROME - A Canadian couple and an American died after fire broke out in their five-star hotel in Rome Saturday. Eleven others were taken to hospital for treatment.

The blaze was reported before dawn in a room on the third floor of the luxury Parco dei Principi, officials said. It quickly spread to other rooms on the floor as smoke engulfed the hotel.


Firefighters rescue a guest of the Parco dei Principi hotel (AP photo)
Guests woke to a strong smell of burning and a fire alarm. In their pajamas and bathrobes, they ran down the stairs and out to the street.

Firefighters helped some of the guests to safety. But one American man plunged to his death as he tried to escape from a fifth-floor balcony.

The Canadian couple, identified as Paul Emile Busque, 64, and his wife Bernice, 63, from Lac Frontiere, Que., died in their room from asphyxiation, investigators said.

Police said they were questioning two young American women. One of the hotel's owners said the fire started in their room after they came in early in the morning.

The Parco dei Principi hotel is one of the best in the Italian capital. It is often used by politicians, actors and pop stars.

American tennis star Andy Roddick was among guests who had to evacuate the building. He and several other tennis players were booked at the hotel to compete at the Italian Open, which begins Monday.

(They ran down the stairs rs not on the roof & not rescued by Roddick as reported on other mb's)

[sseemiller]

Of course, a Canadian article is going to focus on the Canadian aspect. And an article on tennis sites will focus on the tennis player aspect. I don't see any of the articles as being inconsistent -- yet.

Who is that a picture of in the first post? That's not Roddick.

[tykrum]

Its Bob/Mike Bryan.

[Roforot]

Fortunate that loss of life was not more w/ such a significant fire.
The loss of eqipment is interesting; it's not like they can just order more racs online; they have to order them, weight them, and then paint it to look like another frame.

[sseemiller]

Here's an article that focuses on the players, posted by Fee on RnR. I can just see Andy catching Sjeng Schalken now.


Tennis stars escape blaze at Rome hotel
SundayHerald.com

Three guests die in fire at five-star Parco dei Principi
From Eleanor Preston in Rome

Fire swept though one of Rome’s most luxurious hotels yesterday, killing three and for cing some of the biggest names in tennis to flee for their lives.
The blaze, which started at 5am, quickly spread through the five-star Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi, located in a leafy, central area of Rome, and which overlooks the Villa Borghese.

While none of the fatalities was associated with tennis, the world number two and US Open champion Andy Roddick was one of many who had to be rescued by firefighters on a cherry picker.

Roddick, whose suite was on the sixth floor, was said to have helped other guests climb down onto his balcony so that they could be taken to safety.

The three dead were Canadians Paul and Bernice Busque, who were overcome by smoke despite sealing themselves into their bathroom, and 57-year-old James Lawery, from Georgia, US, who was killed after knotting his sheets together and attempting to lower himself down from the fifth floor. Five others were treated for smoke inhalation.

The tennis players were staying at the £300-plus a night Parco dei Principi because it was the official hotel for the Telecom Italia Masters, which begins tomorrow. Some of them, including former world number one Marat Safin, were temporarily trapped while trying to escape the flames and smoke.

“I know that Safin, his trainer and his girlfriend were quite shaken up,” said a spokesman for the ATP Tour, which runs the tournament. “He lost a lot of stuff too.”

One player, Belarussian Max Mirnyi, was seen outside the hotel wearing only shorts and trying to cover his 6’5” frame with a blanket, having lost all his clothes in the fire.

“The alarms didn’t sound. People were all yelling in the hallway ‘fire, fire’,” said US tennis player Robby Ginepri. “Luckily my coach, who I’m sharing a room with, heard it and woke me up. I thought it was kids doing a prank at the beginning but they kept on yelling. We went outside and there was a ton of smoke in the corridor and you couldn’t even see more than five feet ahead of you. Everyone was running frantically, trying to find the exit.

“I have never been through anything like that. It was a very scary thing to have happen to you. When we got outside we saw flames coming from three different sides of the building and the windows were shattering, with glass everywhere. ”

Investigators believe the fire started in room 305, on the third floor, where two young American women were staying. The pair were being questioned by police yesterday. According to Italian news agency ANSA, the women were seen coming back to the hotel, apparently drunk, at 5am, shortly before the fire started.

Britain’s top player, Tim Henman, was not staying at the hotel but said many of his colleagues had been very shaken by the experience.

Ginepri said the fire would have a huge impact on the players. “Everybody is pretty bummed,” he added. “It’s a big shock but it could have been so much worse.”

Roddick said: “I woke up to go to the bathroom and noticed it smelled a little bit like fire … So I went to my front door and a cloud of black smoke came in and pushed me back a little bit.

“I decided to put some stuff on and went out to my balcony and when I got out there I saw [Dutch player] Sjeng Schalken on the seventh floor which was probably about 10 feet above. He had four American tourists with him and an Italian guy and they basically jumped … I just kind of caught them .”

02 May 2004

[Anonymous]

Wow! What a scare! Good job Andy helping people out! I would laugh to see Sjeng up in a crane! Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to the people who lost their lives and their family members...

Meanwhile, Gaudio vs. Robredo!
I'm pumped for this one! I love both players but I want Tommy since I've always liked him and he's only won one title, but deserves many more. Vamos Tommy!!

[Ronaldo]

Had a weird situation in a hotel fire in NC that started in a 2nd floor room. Alarms were going off and I was on the top floor. Some fool was trying to disable the alarms and cover the strobes because it was disturbing his sleep. Took the stairs and strongly suggested he should too as I did see the Towering Inferno and no way I am getting on an elevator. Seems the fire dept. had a hard time getting the drunks out of the bar.

[david aames]

I hear someone saw a crossdresser running out of Andy's room yelling 'rescue me I'm the US Davis Cup Captain, pants on fire!'. Any truth in that?