Updated as HBO website reopens to employees: HBO’s Penguin Lounge in San Diego’s Gaslamp District has reopened to employees, about 90 minutes after it was evacuated due to a fire in a nearby building.
Nightclub-goers were seen entering through a side door on E Street around 8:55 p.m. at 919 Fourth Street, the nightclub hosting the event during Comic-Con to promote the upcoming Batman series. Penguin Starring Colin Farrell.
Previously 7:51 PM: Press and attendees at San Diego’s Bloom Nightclub, also known as HBO’s Penguin Lounge during Comic-Con week, were evacuated Friday night as firefighters battled a blaze in a nearby building.
Upon leaving the concert venue in the Gaslamp Quarter around 7:30 p.m., attendees were met by several fire engines and police officers at the scene, and two ladders stretched to the top of a three-story building nearby. Smoke could be seen rising into the evening sky.
The fire started in a building in the 900 block of Fourth Avenue near Broadway, San Diego Police Chief Adam Sharkey told Deadline. The city of San Diego said the fire started at the Brazilian steakhouse Rei do Gado, located at 939 Fourth Avenue, and officials are working to ensure it doesn’t spread before allowing diners back into the surrounding area.
HBO’s activation is designed to promote the upcoming Batman series. Penguin The Colin Farrell-starring movie is located at 919 Fourth Avenue near E Street. According to police on the scene, the entire area was closed off.
Sharkey said there were no plans to evacuate more buildings, but he warned that Fourth Avenue and Broadway were congested with traffic on the busy Comic-Con weekend as firefighters worked the scene.
The cause of the accident has not been determined, and no injuries have been reported.
