Burst Water Pipe Floods Anaheim Hotel; 500 Evacuated, No Injuries

Five hundred people were evacuated from the Grand Hotel early Saturday after a 10th-floor water pipe burst, flooding the floors below.

The flooding also damaged a conduit box, which sparked a small electrical fire that was doused within three minutes by the Anaheim Fire Department, authorities said.

No one was injured. The chief damage to the 29-year-old hotel at 1 Hotel Way came from flooding, according to fire officials.

Grand general manager Philip Campanelli said the hotel is scheduled to reopen Monday. He said that all guests were shifted to other Anaheim hotels along with three banquets scheduled to be held there Saturday night.

Just after 6 a.m., the water pipe burst on the top floor, setting off alarms on each floor, according to Campanelli. Most guests were able to retrieve their luggage then or were able to return later to get it, he said.

Forty-eight firefighters--including companies from Garden Grove, Orange and Buena Park--helped put out the electrical fire, which did not cause significant damage to the hotel, said Jim Cox, an Anaheim fire battalion chief.