WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — A fire that began outside and spread to the Country Hearth Inn & Suites during the early morning hours Monday, May 29, 2023, caused an evacuation of the hotel. No injuries were reported, according to the Washington Fire Department.

At around 12:30 a.m., firefighters from the Washington Fire Department arrived and found heavy fire and dense smoke to the southwest of the exterior of the Country Hearth Inn, located at 1810 Victoria St., with significant exposure to the structure. Once all guests and employees were evacuated, firefighters went inside the front door to evaluate fire spread and structural conditions, according to the report.

Minimal smoke was found in the first floor corridors and a light haze was found in the second floor corridor. Firefighters reportedly found heavy smoke within the stairwell, “and with concerns about the structural stability of the wood stairwell, they decided a combined fire attack from the ground floor landing and exterior was safest.”

Firefighters found the sprinkler system had contained the fire spread to the exterior and above the ceiling in the southwest stairwell, preventing fire spread throughout the attic space, according to the report.

Center Point Energy and the Red Cross were dispatched to the scene. Several families were displaced from the hotel.

Firefighters performed salvage and overhaul operations, and confirmed the fire was extinguished, reports said. It was determined that the fire originated at or near a large pile of stored building materials next to the exterior southwest stairwell, and spread to the building where it spread vertically into the attic through the voids in the exterior wall.

According to the report, the fire department was not able to determine a cause and requested the State Fire Marshal’s Office to investigate.

Aiding at the scene were AES, Center Point Energy, BPM Joint Fire District, and the Wayne Township Fire Department.