“The fire was on the ground floor [of the building] and was extinguished by 12:09,” according to the source.

Also according to CDOS da Guarda, the causes of the fire, which only reached the ground floor, “will be investigated by the police authorities”.

The alert for the fire, inside the building of the former Hotel Turismo, “was given at 11:48, via 112”.

According to the source, a total of 42 firefighters and 12 vehicles from the Guarda Voluntários Firefighters, the municipal civil protection and the PSP were mobilised to the site.

The Hotel Turismo is located in the centre of Guarda, next to the Paços do Concelho building.

The hotel, which opened in the 1940s, was the first hotel in the city.