San Antonio, TX – Sprinkler system quickly put out hotel kitchen fire during wedding reception

Two people were taken to a nearby hospital and two floors were evacuated after a fire erupted Saturday night during a wedding banquet at a downtown hotel.

San Antonio Police Department Sgt. Bryan Patten said the fire started on the second floor at about 7:30 p.m. in the Sheraton Gunter hotel, 205 E. Houston St.

According to San Antonio Fire Department Captain Craig Balter, a cooking stove caught fire during a wedding banquet, producing heavy smoke that filled the first and second floors.

The sprinkler system quickly put the fire out, but the floors were soaked and the smoke had to be vented from the building.

Residents were evacuated and two people were treated for minor injuries, officials said.

Groomsman Matthew Guevara said they had just sat down to eat their food when their wedding planner told them to evacuate.

“I did not feel the reality of it until I walked out and was hit hard by the smoke,” Guevara said. “It’s a real specific kind of smoke with plastic burning.”

Guevara said he saw one person being escorted by first responders with a burned arm and another person had a breathing mask, possibly for smoke inhalation.

The 200 block of East Houston Street was closed off for at least two hours as more than 15 units initially responded to the scene.