Investigators in Powell, Wyoming are still trying to find out what caused a motel fire that killed a woman last October.
Investigators say they know where in the room the fire started, but the woman staying in the room has given them conflicting information about what happened.
Chugwater resident Rhonda Cox, 48, died of smoke inhalation while trying to flee the burning motel.
(From the Archives)
There's still no word on the cause of Saturday's deadly motel fire in Powell, Wyoming but officials say that the Super 8 Motel did not have a sprinkler system.
Powell Fire Chief Joe Darrah tells us that "individual fire alarms" in each room were in working order but that they didn't appear to be very loud.
It's not known if the building was in violation of fire codes and we haven't heard back from the Super 8 corporate office in New Jersey.
The Park County Coroner says that Rhonda Cox, 48, of Chugwater, Wyoming was the only victim to die in the fire and she passed away due to smoke inhalation. Meanwhile five others were hospitalized and three have since been treated and released.
The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and quickly engulfed the two-story motel.
To view additional photos of the Super 8 Motel fire click here.
Click here to view "Why was a sprinkler system not required at the motel in Powell?"
(from October 27, 2007)
It was a scary night for 67 people staying at the Super 8 Motel in Powell, Wyoming, as a fast moving fire forced their evacuation some of the guests even jumping out the window to survive.
Only 66 of the guests made it out alive; five others were sent to the hospital with injuries. Three of those have since been treated and released.
The fire ignited around 2:30 am Saturday and completely destroyed the interior of the motel. The Powell Fire department is leading the investigation with help from the "Wyoming State Fire Marshall" and the "Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation."
The fire started in the back of the building and some people had to go down a stairwell to get out. The Fire Chief Joey Darrah says when he got here, people were jumping from the second floor.
Chief Darrah says that some people jumped from the hotel's second floor. "Obviously it was pretty hot, people weren't able to get into the hallway on the second floor, so they were jumping out of the windows," said Darrah.
Some of the motel guests walked past the room where the fire started. Tyler Langdgeu, a guest at the hotel, told Montana's News Station, "I felt some heat looked over at the stairwell. Ran down the stairs and out the door"
Police Chief Tim Feathers says emergency crews worked as efficiently as possible. "They managed to evacuate is pretty quickly. Firefighters got on it and took care of business," said Feathers.
There are accounts that one person ran through the hallways alerting guests of the fire. "I think a lot of people used a lot of common sense, didn't panic I do know that somebody went up and down the hall knocking on doors telling people there was a fire," said Fire Chief Darrah.
No word yet on the cause.
We are in touch with Wyoming authorities as we continue to follow this story.
An overnight fire at the Super 8 Motel in Powell, Wyoming has investigators working the scene at this hour, looking for clues as to what sparked a deadly blaze. The fire completely destroyed the interior of the motel, sent 5 to the hospital, and killed one person.
Here are the fact as we know them so far: 67 people were staying in the hotel when the fire broke out around 2:30 Saturday morning. 66 of them made it out alive, 5 were injured and taken to the hospital, and 3 of those have since been treated and released.
The Powell Fire department is leading the investigation with help from the Wyoming State Fire Marshall and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The Powell Fire Chief says the blaze appeared to have originated at the rear of the building.
People were reported jumping from the second story of the building to escape the flames. Tune into the KTVQ weekend news for the latest information.
