`Once you have a fire in one of our hotels it will become an international matter where not just domestically there has been a fire, it will be all over the international news.' -- Edness A fire at a local hotel could severely damage the Island's tourism industry, a Government Minister said yesterday.

Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness spoke to The Royal Gazette after news broke that a Paget hotel would be temporarily closing its doors.

Palm Reef Hotel general manager and co-owner Bridgett Marshall announced on Tuesday that the hotel would temporarily close its doors on November 18 after being open for eight years.

She said the move came as a result of licensing requirements for a sprinkler system in parts of the hotel that would cost close to $1 million.

This was "not viable given the current tourism climate,'' said Ms Marshall.

"It is extremely important that all guest accommodations put in the appropriate fire prevention systems,'' said Mr. Edness.

The aim was not for hotels to incur costs for no reason at all, it was for the protection of the industry, he stressed.

"Once you have a fire in one of our hotels, be it large or small, it will become an international matter where not just domestically there has been a fire, it will be all over the international news.'' The Bermudian people, Government and Fire Service would be considered very negligent if they had not done all they could to prevent such an event.

He noted that travellers rated safety, including fire protection, very highly when it came time for them to choose a destination to visit.

The Island had people who came to stay over the years because they knew that hotels were safe in Bermuda, he added.

The Spanish tourism industry went down, continued Mr. Edness, when visitors considered various hotels in that country to have lax fire precautions.

"They (travellers) made the decision with their feet and went somewhere else.'' The Spanish government and hotel association conducted a survey which showed that one of the top concerns among visitors was fire protection so drastic steps were taken to upgrade this area. In Bermuda, said Mr. Edness, the Government moved some years ago to tighten safety measures.

The third storeys of all hotels had to be equipped with sprinkler systems as part of Bermuda Fire Service requirements.

If these requirements were not met then a hotel could not receive a Fire Safety Certificate necessary for licensing by the Tourism Department, Mr.

Edness added.

This policy was initiated some five years ago and had been complied with by all the Island's hotels except the Palm Reef.

Mr. Edness said: "I think the public needs to know that Government did not just impose the condition on hotels of putting in sprinkler systems. Hoteliers have been told for some considerable time that they would need to phase this in and get it done. It is extremely important.

"Patience has been given in this regard but hotels without fire prevention systems cannot be tolerated any more. This is to protect the very industry this lady ( Ms Marshall) operates in so it's to her benefit.'' TOURISM TOU FIRE FIR