Fire officials were left searching for answers after the sewage treatment facility at the Fairmont Southampton hotel sparked ablaze yesterday afternoon.

They were unable to determine the cause of the fire which burned for at least three hours.

Clouds of black smoke and the heavy smell of chlorine set off alarms shortly after 1 p.m. and fire trucks responded, rushing along the South Shore to the rear of the hotel property where the plant is located.

Bermuda Fire Service spokesman Lt. Dana Lovell could only describe the fire as a ?liquid flammable?.

?We were met with heavy black smoke,? Lt. Lovell said of the arrival of firefighters on the scene, ten minutes after they received the call.

?Initially we were unable to determine what was involved, but once we put the firefighters in the breathing apparatus we were able to determine that it was piping, chlorine, and paint in the area (that was burning).?

The chlorine fumes were of concern and members of the media and the public were asked to move back from the area to avoid becoming nauseous.

The hotel?s sewage treatment plant treats all sewage from 593 hotel rooms and the staff quarters in a septic tank. Chlorine is used to treat the waste and the recycled water is used for irrigating the hotel golf course.

Shelley Meszoly, the retail director of sales and marketing at the hotel, said there was no disruption to guest services yesterday afternoon, however the air conditioning was turned off for more than an hour and guests were shuttled along Lighthouse Road to avoid travelling past the plant.

Mrs. Meszoly said the full extent of the damage had yet to be determined and she did not know how long the plant would be out of operation.

?Operations have not been affected, the power is fine in the hotel and guests are doing what they would normally do,? she said.

?We will be operating it like a septic tank situation with no disruption in toilet flushing. What is not treated here will be taken away by truck.?

The Ministry of Works and Engineering will transport waste from the plant?s septic tank to be treated at another facility.

Water chillers were turned off yesterday as a precaution but were due to be turned on at some point in the late afternoon.

A few hotel workers were seen leaving the premises from the staff quarters due to the overpowering heat, however.

One worker told that as of 4 p.m. the air conditioning in the hotel offices as well as the staff and guest rooms had not been turned back on.

?We?re all trying to get outside to get some air, there are quite a few guests waiting in the hotel lobby.

?We all hope this situation will be resolved quickly, the last time this happened everyone was uncomfortable and no one was very happy.?

The hotel worker told that a fire broke out on the grounds of the hotel facing the Windows on the Sound restaurant five weeks ago, and such issues with maintenance are ongoing.

?There is always something breaking down, the electricity goes out in the staff quarters all the time ? there are leaks in the staff cafeteria and plumbing problems. There is also an issue with overcrowding and the fact that now, in a single room, up to three hotel workers will be crammed.?

Another fire broke out at the hotel property in April at the Whaler Inn during IBM?s annual conference.