The Delta Inn Motel at 2414 Ludington Street caught fire Thursday afternoon on the city’s west side.
Escanaba Public Safety Captain Darin Hunter says that Delta County Central Dispatch received a 911 call of a room on fire at the Delta Inn Motel at 12:40 in the afternoon.
Units from Escanaba Public Safety were dispatched to the scene and, upon arrival, flames had already breached through the roof of the two-story structure. Occupants from the second story of the motel were escaping the fire by climbing on the roof of the adjacent Hiawatha Motel.
Bystanders and Officers were assisting the occupants to safety. The west side of the motel was fully engulfed when responding units arrived on scene and a mutual aid request was made for Ford River Township and Escanaba Township Fire Departments.
The high winds made for extreme conditions trying to battle the blaze. Escanaba Public Safety deployed their aerial unit and Escanaba Township Fire Department deployed their platform unit to help battle the second story blaze and protect the adjacent Hiawatha Motel.
It took approximately three hours to bring the fire under control, with roughly three dozen firefighters, and seven fire apparatus units. Once the fire was completely extinguished and determined to structural sound to enter, Firefighters removed two bodies from the scene.
One victim was determined to be a 72-year-old male from Escanaba and the second victim being a 17- year-old male also from Escanaba. Both victims resided at the motel.
There were multiple occupants that escaped the fire, but three did sustain injuries.
One of the occupants, a 66-year-old male, was transported to OSF St. Francis Hospital by Rampart EMS for severe burns and transferred to St. Mary’s Burn Center in Milwaukee.
A second occupant, a 60-year-old male, was transported to OSF St. Francis Hospital and transferred to UP Health Systems in Marquette for a fractured spine sustained from jumping to safety.
The last occupant, a 73-year-old male, was transported to OSF St. Francis Hospital for minor burns and release.
Escanaba Public Safety would like to thank bystanders who helped the occupants to safety and initially assisting with trying to help get people out of the motel. Escanaba Public Safety also sends condolences to the families suffering from their loss of loved ones and best wishes of support to the families of the injured individuals.
Escanaba Public Safety thanks the Ford River Twp. Fire Department, Escanaba Township Fire Department, Rampart EMS, Delta County Central Dispatch, Michigan State Police – Gladstone Post, Delta County Sheriff Department, Escanaba City Electric, DTE, Delta County Victim Advocacy, and the American Red Cross for all of their combined efforts with such a tragic situation.
The cause of the fire will be investigated by the Michigan State Police – Fire Marshal Division and nothing further will be released at this time.
Staff next door at Gram’s Pasties gave food and water to the emergency crews, who continued to battle the blaze throughout the afternoon. The American Red Cross was also helping out.
Many of the police and firefighters on the scene were wearing masks, both from the thick smoke, and also, because of the coronavirus protocols.
Disaster volunteers from the American Red Cross are helping six residents from The Delta Inn in Escanaba with assistance for temporary lodging, access to health/mental health resources and other basic needs as they begin their recovery.
“We’re also lining up meals for these residents tonight and tomorrow, for starters. We’ve made contact with five additional residents, who have other accommodations for at least tonight,” said Justin Kern, communications officer for the Red Cross of Wisconsin in a statement to RRN. “We’ll continue to work with all of these residents (11 in total, according to our initial work with the property owner) on next stepson their recovery
Comments