Two members of the British pop group Five were slightly injured in a fire which broke out in one of their hotel rooms at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin yesterday morning.
Some 40 guests and about 80 staff were evacuated when the alarm was raised after the fire broke out in a sixth-floor room occupied by Mr Scott Robinson (19) at about 10.45 a.m.
The band's manager, Mr Bob Herbert, said the fire started when a band member, Mr Abs Breen (19), lit a cigar in the room.
"He dropped ash into an ashtray and this caught fire with a curtain," said Mr Herbert.
The two men tried to attack the flames with wet towels and a fire extinguisher but the fire was fanned by air from an open window.
Both men fled the room and raised the alarm. "They grabbed what they could of their belongings but they lost quite a bit. Scott lost all of his jewellery," Mr Herbert said.
"The hotel was immediately evacuated," said Mr Pat McCann, chief executive-designate of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group.
Guests were taken to the adjoining Jurys Towers Hotel while the fire brigade brought the blaze under control.
"We're extremely pleased with the way the evacuation went," said Mr McCann. He praised the "excellent" response of the fire brigade, which was on the scene "within minutes".
District Officer Tom McCabe, of Dublin Fire Brigade, said that the fire was contained within the room in which it started. "There's a lot of smoke and heat damage," he said.
The guests were brought back to the hotel just before noon.
Mr Robinson and Mr Breen were taken by ambulance to St Vincent's Hospital. They were discharged yesterday afternoon after being treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation.
"They're a bit shaken and in a state of shock. They can't breathe because of the smoke," said Mr Herbert.
The group arrived in Dublin on Monday for a recording session at Windmill Lane Studios. They returned to London yesterday evening after cancelling the session.
No one else was injured in the fire.
