The Merritt Ramada Inn is closed indefinitely after a fire at the Voght Street hotel on Monday afternoon left it without power.

According to manager Anoop Sekhon, an electrician was working in the Ramada’s electrical room on Monday when the breaker panel appears to have ignited.

“I took him to hospital because he had some burns on his arms and afterwards the fire department came,” he says.

The Merritt Fire Rescue Department arrived on the scene just before 1:30 p.m. BC Hydro workers came about 15 minutes later and shut off power to the Ramada.

Plumes of black smoke gave way to white smoke emerging from the door leading to the electrical room as the firefighters countered the blaze.

Besides the burns on his arms, the electrician was unharmed. Hotel guests were not evacuated.

However, Sekhon says that the hotel is closed until further notice because of damage from the fire.

“It was the main electrical room that burned, so there’s no power.

“At the moment, there’s no way we can accommodate anyone.”

Sekhon says that the insurance company is working to send a representative to assess the damage so that repairs can be done, but there is no timetable for when that will happen.

“Nobody knows yet.”

Domino’s Pizza, which is located inside the Ramada building, is also closed until power is restored.