Considerable damage is reported to the south side of the Economy Inn at 1317 Salem Road in Mt. Vernon from an early Tuesday night fire that displaced those in 30 rooms of the extended stay motel.
Mt. Vernon Fire Chief Kevin Sargent says the fire appears to have started in one of the occupied rooms, but no one was present at the time. He reports firemen first on the scene saw just a haze in the air of the unit where the fire is believed to have started. Sargent says they then discovered the fire in the attic. He believes the fire traveled up a wall into the attic where it took off because there were no fire stops. Sargent reports they tried trench cuts to stop the fire, but until the roof was opened up in the area of the office the actual fire could not be reached.
Sargent says the fire was confined to the attic across most of the south U of the building with only minor smoke damage to most of the units. Some of the ceiling tiles had to be pulled down to make sure the fire was out. There were no injuries.
Sargent says all 30 of the occupied units on both sides of the U-shaped building were evacuated and are currently inhabitable due to no power or water to the building. He reports the Red Cross was assisting the occupants in finding housing.
The State Fire Marshal’s office was called in to assist in determining the cause of the fire.
The Economy Inn is owned by Steve Jones of Mt. Vernon.
Sargent says he is very appreciative of all the mutual aid help. Jefferson Fire, Salem, Kell, Centralia City, Woodlawn, and Waltonville all provided equipment and manpower at the scene while Ashley provided station coverage in the event of another fire.
The fire alarm came in at five Tuesday night. Firemen were on the scene for nearly four hours.
