‘Sheraton on fire.’ The Sheraton logo at the Amsterdam airport hotel caught fire near the roof around 3:45 a.m. on Friday morning.
It was initially treated as a ‘medium fire’ and then escalated at 4:15 a.m. to a coordinated multi-agency incident response with tank engines, an aerial platform, command vehicles, and hazardous materials resources along with an ambulance.
Burning pieces of the sign were falling from a height, and firefighters initially did not know exactly where the fire was originating or whether it could spread inside the hotel.
Ingezet met waterwagen en tankautospuit #Badhoevedorp voor grote brand Sheraton hotel #Schiphol pic.twitter.com/3uFGz5p0r5
— Brw Badhoevedorp 🚒 (@brwbhd) May 1, 2026
About 380 hotel guests, plus staff, were evacuated from the property and taken to the nearby Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. After about an hour people were able to return and no injuries were reported.
It’s believed that a short circuit or electrical fault in the illuminated logo caused the fire. The sign was visibly scorched and the area on the street below was cordoned off because of risk of more falling debris.
A flaming Sheraton sign feels almost too on-the-nose for the brand. The name still lights up the sky, but the energy behind it has completely burned out.
(HT: Joe Brancatelli)
