As smoke started to emerge from between the floors of the McLaren hospitality building in the Spanish Grand Prix paddock, firefighters raced to put out the fire.
A fire broke out on Saturday at the Spanish Grand Prix, forcing McLaren to evacuate their hospitality unit.
It occurred early in the morning, just prior to the start of the weekend’s third practice session. Witnesses saw smoke coming from the hospitality unit’s two floors, which prompted a quick evacuation.
Firefighters hurried to the scene in order to find the fire’s source and extinguish it. No employees were hurt in the fire, a McLaren team representative confirmed to Mirror Sport.
The statement read, “We safely evacuated the team from our team hub paddock hospitality unit this morning in response to a fire alert. The local fire department is handling the situation.”
Reporter Rachel Brookes said on Sky Sports F1 that she witnessed two firefighters receiving oxygen and receiving treatment for smoke inhalation. “I just spoke with a team member, and they were in the kitchen at the time,” she stated.
“They told me the smoke appeared to be coming from between the floors; they believe it was electrical, which likely explains why it was so challenging to locate and put out at first. The ground floor hospitality area was occupied at the time by guests, media, and drivers when the smoke started to descend.
“Everyone from McLaren is safe and well; they all made it out okay. Two firefighters who entered the building to assist have been removed and placed on oxygen due to respiratory difficulties. Both of them were conscious as they were wheeled out when they passed us here.
“The smoke was extremely strong and acrid; we could smell it from our TV compound, which is quite a distance away, as well as from the paddock here. Now that it has been released, the atmosphere is much calmer than it was just moments ago.”
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