Fire reported at Caseyville Days Inn hotel; firefighter taken to hospital
A fire was reported Saturday afternoon at the Days Inn and Suites hotel in Caseyville.
Guests and employees were evacuating as firefighters responded around 2:15 p.m., according to Signal Hill Fire Chief Tom Elliff.
Elliff spoke to the Belleville News-Democrat on Saturday evening on behalf of French Village Fire Department, the lead agency on the hotel fire. French Village, from Fairview Heights, was responding to another fire call around 4:30 p.m.
Elliff said no one at the hotel was injured, but a firefighter who responded to the back-to-back fires was taken to a hospital for treatment over possible heat exhaustion or dehydration.
Signal Hill Fire Department from Belleville was among the six agencies assisting French Village with the hotel fire. The others were Caseyville Fire Department, Fairmont City Fire Department, State Park Volunteer Fire Department from Collinsville, Fairview Heights Fire Department and Northwest St. Clair County Fire Protection District from Belleville.
An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office was also there working to determine the cause of the hotel fire. That information was not available Saturday.
The fire was in the building’s roof, between the metal decking and plywood just below it, 15 feet above a common area of the hotel, according to Elliff. He said the fire was difficult to reach. Firefighters first tried to extinguish it from inside, but around 3 p.m. Saturday, some smoke was still visible from outside.
A crew remained on the roof at 5 p.m. working to extinguish hot spots, Elliff said.
The Days Inn will close until the village of Caseyville determines it is safe to restore power, according to Elliff. He said the hotel’s employees were working to find other accommodations for guests.
Outdoor burning leads to shed fire
French Village firefighters left the Days Inn on Saturday to respond to a blaze at a private shed caused by outdoor burning, according to Elliff.
He said one firefighter who had worked both fires was taken to a hospital Saturday. The firefighter was conscious and talking during the transport, Elliff said.
The National Weather Service had issued a warning against outdoor burning because Saturday’s low humidity and wind gusts caused “elevated fire danger” in southwestern Illinois.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 8:13 PM.
