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Originally Posted by Mouse  I think I'm leaning towards hotel fire (though five mins ago I was leaning towards house!) as I think I'll need the confusion to get certain things to work. |
How about person/family who live in a hotel. Such as the managers/owners or happen to live there due to other circumstances.
For dramatic effect your characters could escape the fire, but develop problems several hours later.
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Originally Posted by Mouse I'm now thinking house again now though. A house party would give me the numbers... |
I think you need to figure out what the result of the fire is. That should then help you with its location.
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Originally Posted by Mouse Would I be ok to burn down a hotel that really did exist? Or would I be better making a hotel up? |
Views will vary on this one. If you have a lot of confusion with the evacuation and kill off characters the hotel could argue you are misrepresenting them and their contingency measures, such as fire prevention and evacuation routes.
If the hotel had previously suffered a fire they could argue people could become confused with the actual facts and what you shown in the story.
We seem to be taking onboard the American culture of sue first ask questions later. It's all about brand image. If they feel you have damaged their brand they could decide to take it further.