Tables Turned on Thanksgiving

Gas Leak at Hotel Prompts Evacuation, Make-Do Dinner

After a gas leak in their hotel, a mass evacuation and a Thanksgiving night spent in the company of firetrucks and ambulances, some guests at the Sheraton in Columbia said they have a whole new understanding of the holiday, with many giving thanks yesterday for simply being alive.

The gas leak coming from the basement laundry room was discovered shortly before 6:15 p.m. Thursday, just as dozens of families were preparing for their turkey dinner in the hotel ballroom. Everyone was sent into the parking lot and the Mall in Columbia while fire crews investigated.

There were no deaths or life-threatening injuries, fire officials said, but 26 people suffered low-level carbon monoxide poisoning, 11 of whom were taken to the hospital. Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel employees declined to comment, referring questions to a corporate spokesperson. That person did not return a phone call.

Many at the hotel were coaches, parents and children in town for multi-day youth soccer and hockey tournaments in Columbia. Recounting the experience yesterday in the hotel parking lot, one youth hockey player described it as an integral part of his Washington experience.

"All I saw when we arrived were the firetrucks and ambulances. First thing I thought was terrorist attack. I mean, it's Washington," said Mike Carfi, 14, of Hawthorne, N.J.

Like true sports fanatics, many on his evacuated team, including his coach, had little concern for clothes and valuables left behind in their rooms. Instead, they worried about the gear they had also left and whether they could retrieve it in time for their 7 a.m. game yesterday against a Montgomery County team.

"What can I say?" coach Nick Regas said. "We're all about the hockey."

After Sheraton employees evacuated all 290 rooms of the 10-story hotel in the 10200 block of Wincopin Circle, fire crews ventilated the building. No one was allowed back in until 10 p.m., creating many last-minute scrambles for dinner options.

"Let me tell you, it's not easy finding a table for 40 the night of Thanksgiving in the middle of Columbia," said Candace Drimmer, 58, of Chicago.

More than 40 members of Drimmer's family had flown in from all over the world for their annual family reunion. They were just getting ready for dinner in the hotel ballroom when fire alarm lights started flashing. Instead of turkey and gravy, they ended up with Peking duck and sweet-and-sour sauce at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

It was there that they ran into other similarly stranded families. They began exchanging hotel horror stories, Drimmer said, which led to a series of inter-family conversations in the dining room.

By the end of the night, people from different families and parties were going around the room taking turns telling each other what they were thankful for.

Yesterday, many hotel guests remained annoyed over how they said the hotel handled the incident. Most complained about the lack of hot water, with cold showers continuing into yesterday afternoon as a precaution against further gas issues.

"Sure, there's a lot to complain about," Drimmer said. "But the thing is, everybody's alive. I mean, there's still a lot to be thankful for."

In the 20 years her family has been holding reunions, this year's Thanksgiving was not the most ideal but certainly the most memorable, said her daughter Jennie Drimmer, 31.

"Are you kidding me?" she said. "We're going to be talking about this story over wine and beer for years and years."