Henry Winkler has thanked firefighters after he was among guests evacuated from a Dublin hotel after a blaze broke out.
The star, most famous for his role as The Fonz in TV sitcom Happy Days, had checked into the Shelbourne Hotel beside St Stephen’s Green on Tuesday night.
He and other guests were forced to evacuate the historic venue - first opened in 1824 - when a fire alarm was sounded at around 10.30am on Wednesday, after smoke was reported coming from an upper floor window.
Firefighters were on the scene quickly and the blaze was tackled, before all guests were allowed to return to their rooms within an hour after the evacuation.
A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said afterwards: “The fire is under control with an effective evacuation helping enormously.”
Firefighters were thanked personally by Winkler, who shook their hands, chatted briefly and posed with them for a selfie before they left the area.
Thank you Dublin ‘s fire department … our hotel was evacuated on our first morning !!! pic.twitter.com/kyByb5VSoM
— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) June 12, 2024
Speaking with an RTÉ reporter afterwards, the 78-year-old New Yorker said he initially thought the fire alarm was a “clock radio” that had been set by a previous guest.
“I called downstairs and the woman said in a very calm voice ‘yes, we’re all evacuating, you must evacuate right now’, and I left,” he said.
Praising the response of firefighters, he said: “Firemen are some of my favourite human beings - firemen and firewomen. They run in when other people are running out. I think their hands deserve to be shook.”
The star, who in recent years has starred in critically acclaimed HBO comedy series Barry, said the evacuation followed a delay in his flight to Dublin from London.
“It was an amazing adventure,” he said, adding: “I cannot wait to see the rest of Dublin.”