LIBERTY, Mo. — One firefighter was injured and dozens of people were evacuated from a Liberty motel fire early Wednesday morning.
Firefighters said the fire started around 3 a.m. at the Days Inn near highways 291 and 152 in Liberty.
One woman, Amanda Bruce, said she and her family were asleep when the fire started in the room next to theirs. Bruce said her husband woke up to someone screaming. Together, they scrambled to get their two children, ages seven and three, and their belongings out of the room.
“I’m afraid to go to sleep,” said Bruce. “I won’t stay on the top floor, that’s for sure.”
Hotel guest Allie Faubion, who had been staying at the hotel for almost four months, says that she and several others returned to the burned-out hotel after the fire was extinguished to pack up their belongings and look for a new place to live.
“It was very scary. We didn’t know what to do, if we were gonna be able to come back,” said Faubion.
Firefighters rescued two people from a second floor room. A police officer rescued another person also trapped on the second floor. A firefighter fell through the second-floor balcony and suffered unknown injuries. He was taken to the hospital and later released.
Forty to 50 people were evacuated from the motel and are being assisted by the Red Cross. The cause is still under investigation, but several guests reported never hearing any smoke alarms go off in the building.
Damage is estimated at $1 million.
