One person died and four others were injured Friday during an early morning fire at the Grand Teton Lodge Company’s Colter Bay employee dormitory in Grand Teton National Park.
The fire was limited to a single dorm room, and adjacent rooms sustained smoke damage. Approximately 70 people were evacuated from the two-story dormitory building and all were assessed for injuries and/or smoke inhalation by park emergency medical service providers, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.
Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an emergency call at 12:04 a.m. Friday, July 31. First responders used fire extinguishers in an attempt to suppress the blaze before fully-equipped park and county fire response teams arrived.
A Grand Teton National Park fire engine stationed at Colter Bay arrived within 10 minutes of the call for help. Firefighters were informed that at least one person and possibly others were still inside the dormitory on the second floor.
They located and carried out one individual, who was unresponsive, and helped evacuate others from the building. Although CPR was initiated on the unresponsive person—and paramedics continued CPR for nearly one hour—efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Four other people were treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation. They were transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson for further care.
Park officials have yet to release the names of any of the fire victims.
The fire was suppressed by 2:00 a.m. While most rooms were not affected by the fire, residents of the facility were temporarily housed in other locations as a safety precaution for the remainder of the evening.
A joint investigation will be conducted by Grand Teton National Park with the assistance of a Jackson Hole Fire/EMS investigator and a State of Wyoming fire investigator from Cheyenne. Further details are not available at this time.