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Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Raptors' hotel evacuated for fire
Associated Press
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ATLANTA -- The Toronto Raptors evacuated their hotel four hours after checking in Wednesday because of a fire in a linen closet.
The hotel said the fire was quickly contained and guests
returned to their rooms after about an hour. No one was injured.
"It was unpleasant, but everybody went with the flow," Toronto guard Mark Jackson said. "Just another bump in the road for us."
The Raptors, in Atlanta to play the Hawks on Wednesday night, checked in at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 4 a.m. They flew into the city after a 96-89 home victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Coach Lenny Wilkens said the situation was resolved after a
45-minute wait.
"As much traveling as we do, you learn to adjust to a lot of different situations," Wilkens said, adding that he was unable to get back to sleep. "It's hard. Once I'm up, I'm up."
The team was staying at the Ritz-Carlton in the city's Buckhead
district. Guests were evacuated about 8 a.m. because of the
smoldering fire on the fifth floor, hotel spokeswoman Sandra Ryder
said.
"You think somebody's trying to play a joke on you or something," forward Charles Oakley said. "But everybody realized pretty soon that it was a real fire. Fortunately, it wasn't a big deal."
Vince Carter, the NBA's fourth-leading scorer, did not make the trip to Atlanta. Carter left Tuesday night's game early because of a sore left knee and was undergoing tests in Toronto on Wednesday.
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