Blaze Damages Star Motel

Fire ripped through a motel storage garage Friday afternoon, forcing tenants to briefly evacuate their rooms.

No tenants of the Star Motel were injured, but a man who attacked the flames with a garden hose before firefighters arrived suffered minor burns to his hands.

Motel manager Debbie Lawson said there was an explosion inside the motel’s attached garage about 3:30 p.m. Moments later, flames shot out the door, she said.

Lawson’s husband, Jack, and his friend John Sprinkle pulled a hose from a yard next to the motel at 1516 E. Sherman to spray water on the blaze while others alerted tenants.

Firefighters contained the fire to the Star Motel’s attached garage. Smoke from the fire slightly damaged an adjacent room, said Pete Vandall, city fire inspector. He estimated damage at $10,000.

An hour after the blaze started, tenants had returned to their rooms, white bandages covered Sprinkle’s burned hands and firefighters were searching for a cause.

Debbie Lawson said furniture, television sets, microwaves, tools and a bicycle were in the garage.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo