Carolina Panthers Interrupted By Early-Morning Fire at Hotel

The Carolina Panthers were disturbed by an early-morning fire alarm at the hotel where they are staying in Seattle before their game versus the Seahawks on Sunday.

According to ESPN, the fire alarm went off at around 5:40 a.m., when the Panthers were still all enjoying their sleep, though there was no fire reported.

The Guardian, on the other hand, said that a statement of the team noted that the Panthers players and staff were immediately evacuated then were allowed to return to their rooms when the threat of a fire was cleared.

The Panthers were obviously pissed with what happened and they expressed this on social media.

On his Twitter account, Panthers cornerback Charles Tillman said "Whoever pulled the fire alarm on the 16th floor....not cool."

It was noted in a Deadspin report that the Panthers were resting as they were set to defend their undefeated record against the Seahawks.

The incident, reportedly done by pranksters, did not amuse any as the day was a crucial one for them. Good thing that the Panthers remained undefeated on Sunday, as they sealed a 27-23 victory against the Seahawks.

"Obviously, this is an issue that directly affects our club. We will let the hotel and the league investigate," Panthers spokesperson Steven Drummond said in the ESPN report.

Many of the players believed that the disturbance was done in purpose.

"It had to be an inside job. There's no way it could hit all three floors. There's just no way. It was weird," noted outside linebacker Shaq Thompson.

For his part, cornerback Josh Norman said that the move seemed to have targeted them.

"When floors 15, 16 and 17 was the only ones that were going off ... c'mon. And we were the only ones outside. I don't think that's [too difficult] to piece together," Norman furthered.

While everyone tried to get out of their rooms, ESPN said quarterback Cam Newton did not get out of his bed.

"I stayed in my room. I didn't know what time it was. I figured if it was something important Coach [Mike] Shula would call me. I'm a hard sleeper. I got a pretty good sleep last night," Newton added.

An investigation on the matter is said to be underway to determine the cause of and the persons responsible for the incident.

In a similar report, Sports Illustrated said that this is not the first time that a similar incident happened at the hotel to a Seahawks opponent. It mentioned that the alarm was also activated twice when the New England Patriots was staying in the hotel prior to the Super Bowl.