Jan. 17--MODESTO -- A fire caused by a knocked-over candle heavily damaged a south Modesto hotel early this morning, authorities said.
According to Ceres Battalion Chief Michael Lillie, firefighters were called to Shiva's Motel in the 700 block of South Ninth Street at 2:58 a.m. on a report of a fire in one of the units. By the time they arrived, the fire had spread to three more units.
Occupants got out safely and no firefighters were injured.
It took crews about an hour to get the blaze under control. They have spent the rest of the morning looking for hot spots and cleaning up.
Lillie said the fire started when a woman knocked over a candle she was using for heat. The candle fell onto blankets. She tried to extinguish ithe fire with clothes, and it quickly spread.
Richard Woodman said his wife, Terry, woke him up saying she heard something outside. When they looked out, they saw the fire.
"There were no smoke alarms or anything," he said.
Shiva's Motel was the site of another incident last year' a man was shot to death outside one of the rooms. Investigators in that case made an arrest but later released the suspect without pressing charges.
We'll have more on this story later this morning.
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