Fire cause unknown; victims getting help

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Fire cause unknown; victims getting help

County News

Thursday, 07 July 2011 08:12

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer
State fire marshals are still investigating the cause of a massive motel fire that started the night of June 26 on West U.S. Highway 192 that displaced hundreds of extended-stay families and burned for more than 36 hours, destroying 430 rooms.
The investigation into the cause of the fire at the Vacation Lodge Maingate began as the fire was still being fought, Osceola County Fire Rescue Chief Rich Collins said Friday at a press conference.
“At this point, any information or findings from the investigation will be released by the state,” he said.
Despite the unknown cause, fire officials are confident that the rapid spread of the fire was caused by a 24-inch-wide access corridor without firewalls that ran the length of the hotel.
The space was large enough for a person to enter for repairs to pipes and other utilities and was equipped with doors in each room for easy access, Osceola County Emergency Management spokesperson Niki Whisler said.
“The genesis of this tragedy began over 25 years ago when the building was built,” Collins said, adding that within the first hour of the fire, the inferno had spread at least halfway down the quarter-mile long motel.
The motel had three wings, with rooms on each side and open-spaced courtyards filled with trees running the interior length of the building with a pool in the center. Local building codes did not require sprinklers, and the open corridor led to a connected attic filled with fire-feeding insulation, aiding in the spread of the fire.
“Without sprinklers, this fire was able to move into an open attic and spread quickly,” Collins said. “Given those conditions, as well as the close proximity between wings, this fire (was) almost impossible to fight.”
The lack of sprinklers did not violate fire code as structures less than three-stories high are not required to install them, according to Florida law.
The motel, at 7514 W. U.S. Highway 192, was cited in April for six fire code violations, including broken exit, emergency and hallway lights; out-of-date, missing or discharged fire extinguishers; and fire hydrants blocked by brush.
The motel is owned by several California-based companies, including one called JM Kissimmee, which was accruing a $900 per day fine for the fire code violations ($150 per violation) since June 2 and owes approximately $23,400 in fines, county records show.
“They met the code for the year it was built. We were actually trying to bring this building up to code as much as we could,” Deputy Chief Danny McAvoy said. “With today’s codes, we probably would have contained (the fire) in the first unit it started in.”
Firefighters were able to save the lobby, offices, gift shop and Black Angus Steakhouse restaurant attached to the lobby, Collins said.
Motel management also made identifying residents difficult by maintaining multiple, incomplete registries for their guests.
“An accurate accounting of the occupants was not possible,” Collins said.
However, after several days of cadaver dogs walking the smoldering rubble, officials were confident everyone made it out alive.
“Five cadaver dogs were on the scene for several days and they didn’t find anything,” Twis Lizasuain, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said.
“It is truly a miracle that with the amount of fire (and) number of rooms and occupants that no lives were lost,” Collins added.
While more than 200 people, between the ages of 1 month to 97 years old, survived the fire, many fled with only the clothes on their backs and their children in their arms.
Birth certificates, at least one engagement ring and other personal items burned as people grabbed what they could and congregated in the parking lot, from where they watched the fire throughout the night.
Kelly Herrmann’s son ignored firefighters’ assurances the fire was under control and grabbed his video game system, one of the few things the family salvaged from room 2321.
“He carried it around for hours,” Herrmann said. “We lost all of our stuff, personal documents.”
The Herrmanns were one of the hundreds of families who completed a survey from the county to receive donations.
Volunteers,
community
helping out victims
Volunteers from Community of Faith Church in the Osceola County portion of Davenport spent Friday filling orders specific to each person’s clothing and shoe size. Bags of food from the Green Bag Project and other necessities also were provided.
“The community has done a great job of pouring out support in giving donations,” Pastor Scott Smith said. “If we all coordinate our efforts, everyone gets help.”
Annette Burnsed, who has attended Community of Faith for 10 years and works as the church’s building administrator, volunteered after she got off work Friday afternoon.
“I’ve been doing a lot of the mission work for quite a while,” she said while sifting through piles of clothing, choosing matching outfits for a man. “You never know when you’ll be on the other side. (Volunteering is) something that definitely touches my heart.”
Burnsed and other volunteers matched five outfits and depending on the quantity of shoe sizes available, chose a pair or two of shoes to place in the bag. A toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, a razor and soap completed the package.
Leftover clothing and shoes were picked up by local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, with store representatives vowing to provide vouchers to the fire victims for them to purchase items such as strollers and highchairs, Smith said.
The American Red Cross also provided for the fire victims, offering funds good for a month’s stay at a local motel and a card loaded with money to purchase clothing, food and other necessities.
The organization used more than $100,000 to help the displaced victims, Joel Hass, CEO of the American Red Cross Mid-Florida region, said Friday.
“The scope of this fire is the largest the Red Cross has responded to in recent years,” he said.
To help the Red Cross replenish its funds, donations can be made to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief at www.midfloridaredcross.org or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Additionally, all branches of CenterState Bank are now accepting cash and check donations for Give Kids Safe Shelter, a local nonprofit organization helping fire
victims.
The money will go toward replacing items lost in the fire, such as eyeglasses, medications, wheelchairs, driver licenses, baby formula and other children’s needs, Gene Terrico, president of the organization, said.
Checks should be made out to Give Kids Safe Shelter with a notation that the funds are for the Vacation Lodge Relief Fund.