Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Boone, NC – Fire at Super 8 Motel suppressed by sprinkler system until fire crews arrived

The Super 8 by Wyndham hotel at 2419 N.C. 105 in Boone is back open after an early-morning fire Feb. 7, according to the hotel’s owner.

“We would like to thank the Boone Fire Department for arriving quickly and ensuring that all of our guests were safe,” Super 8 owner Justin Patel said in a Feb. 8 statement.

Patel stated that hotel operations resumed as of Friday evening and that going forward, fire safety classes will be conducted for his employees.

“We are in the beginning stages of planning a yearly fire safety protocol class in conjunction with the Boone Fire Department,” Patel stated. “The goal of the class will be to help prepare local businesses to handle emergency situations like the one we just experienced. This class will be open to all owners and employees of local hospitality businesses. Our hope is to keep all of our High Country visitors as safe as possible.”

Patel is the registered vice president of hotel management group Panoramic Hospitality. Along with the Super 8, Panoramic also owns the La Quinta Inn and Suites and Sleep Inn on N.C. 105 Extension.

Boone Police spokesperson Shane Robbins said Feb. 9 that the fire is still under investigation. On Feb. 7, Boone Police Cpl. Kat Eller said the fire is considered suspicious. She added that the department has a suspect, but Robbins said that as of the morning of Feb. 9, no arrests had been made in the investigation.

Eller said Boone Police had requested a search warrant for one of the rooms in the hotel. Boone Fire had cleared the scene around 3 p.m. on Feb 7, according to Boone Fire Capt. Jacob Burleson.

Burleson said the call initially came in at 3:10 a.m. as a fire alarm and then re-dispatched six minutes later for a structure fire.

There was one origin of fire on the second floor that was actively burning. Burleson said. This fire was suppressed by the sprinkler system by the time Boone Fire had arrived on the scene. Firefighters advanced a hose line through to ensure that the fire was out, Burleson said.

Eller said there were various “char marks” in other places of the building as well.

As first responders arrived on the scene, the building was in the process of being evacuated. Burleson said when personnel were conducting searches in the building to ensure the fire was suppressed, it was found that several rooms had not evacuated. These individuals were escorted out by fire personnel, later allowed to return to their rooms with escorts and then escorted back out of the building, Burleson said.

Burleson advised that people should evacuate when they see or hear a fire alarm activated, as this is for their own safety as well as the safety of first responders.