SANTA ANA : Firefighters Injured Battling Motel Blaze

Eight firefighters were slightly injured while battling an early morning fire Thursday that gutted six rooms at the Royal Roman Motel and forced a handful of guests and workers into the street.

Damage was estimated at $450,000.

The blaze, which was reported at 4:15 a.m., took four dozen firefighters about two hours to put out, said Santa Ana Fire Department spokeswoman Sharon Frank.

While the blaze was largely confined to six units of the 47-room motel in the 1500 block of East 1st Street, six other units received light-to-moderate smoke and water damage, Frank said.

The cause of the blaze, which broke out in an upstairs unit of the two-story motel, has not been determined.

Frank said an investigation is continuing, but she declined to say whether fire investigators suspected arson.

“We’re required by law to investigate all fires,” Frank said. “That certainly does not mean we suspect it was arson. (An) accidental (spark) was as great a possibility as anything.”

Firefighters first responding to the call spotted heavy smoke and flames pouring out of a single room, Frank said. The fire then quickly spread to adjoining rooms and began burning inside a common attic.

Frank said that 30 of the units were rented for the night but that she did not know how many people were inside their rooms when the fire broke out. She also did not know if any of the rooms that were destroyed were occupied.

Shortly after the fire broke out, a portion of an overhanging roof collapsed on two firefighters who were standing on the upstairs walkway that connected the various units.

One of the firefighters, who received first- and second-degree burns to his ears and neck was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana with a second firefighter who was suffering from smoke inhalation and exhaustion.

They were treated and released. Six other firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation.

American Red Cross workers provided hot coffee and blankets to displaced guests in the early morning hours and later helped relocate them to other motels, Frank said.