Dec. 07--No one was injured this afternoon in a fire contained to one unoccupied hotel room at the Days Inn in the 8000 block of Plantation Road in Roanoke County near the Hollins exit for Interstate 81.
But hotel rooms and a hallway in the vicinity of the room where the fire started sustained heavy damage from thick black smoke, said Roanoke County Battalion Chief Barry Hurley.
Hurley said crews from Roanoke County Fire and Rescue and Roanoke Fire-EMS responded after receiving reports at around 12:40 p.m. of smoke coming from the hotel. He said the hotel was searched and evacuated and the fire was quickly extinguished.
The fire marshal was investigating the blaze this afternoon and Hurley said no cause or estimate of damage was available.
Jatin Patel, general manager of the Days Inn, said he saw black smoke coming from the vicinity of the hotel from across Plantation Road, where he was working at the Hollins BP gas station and convenience store. He said he first called the desk clerk to find out if the smoke was coming from the hotel and then called 911.
Patel said the Days Inn was essentially empty at the time of the fire because most guests who had rented rooms the night before had already departed. The room where the fire started had been unoccupied for two or three days, he said. All the hotel's rooms are non-smoking, he said.
Patel said the hotel was remodeled about three months ago with new carpeting, TV sets, beds and other furnishings. One unaffected wing of the hotel remained open after the fire. Patel said he had called the hotel's owner in Maryland and advised him of the blaze and that the owner was going to contact his insurance carrier.
Hurley said manmade materials in drapes, carpeting and other furnishings were the source of the thick black smoke.
Copyright 2013 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
