Fire Damages Rooms at Pottstown Hotel

Photos by Evan Brandt

Firefighters check for hot spots in the second floor roof of the America's Best Value Inn on High Street Saturday after a fire on the second floor damaged several rooms.

Firefighters quickly contained an afternoon fire at the America’s Best Value Inn on High Street Saturday.

The fire was contained to one room on the second floor of the rear wing, although an adjacent room was damaged by fire and smoke damage extended to other rooms, said Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand.

One firefighters is hosed down, rear, after fighting a 

fire Saturday in the America's Best Value Inn.

First floor rooms beneath the burned room were damaged by water and soot and wet ash could be seen dripping from the second floor roof, which was also damaged, onto the concrete below Saturday as firefighters continued to check for hot spots.

Fans were running in the doors of several rooms to pull smoke from them.

There were no injuries reported.

Firefighters arrived at 4:02 p.m. “and they had fire showing through the windows of the room,” Hand said.

The firefighters arrived at the rear of the building and a chain link fence stood between them and the fire.

“They had a fire to deal with, but they were able to break through the fence and knock it down pretty quickly,” said Hand.

Firefighters had to break through a fence at the

rear of the hotel to get hoses to the site of the fire.

“It was a pretty significant stop,” he said of the efforts to keep the fire from spreading.

A person was in the room where the fire started but was already outside when firefighters arrived.

The rear wing of the building was evacuated.

“We’re pretty confident we know what happened, but we’re going to let the police finish their investigation before we announce anything,” said Hand.

“This building is kind of on everyone’s radar, so we know what to expect when we get here,” said Hand. 

The hotel is the location for numerous police calls throughout the year.

Firefighters did not let a fence keep them from getting

to a second floor hotel room fire Saturday.

One guest, who declined to provide his name, said he had only checked in five minutes before the alarm went off. 

“I hadn’t even had time to unpack or anything. Then they started pounding on the door shouting ‘fire.’ I looked out and flames were billowing out of the window,” he said.

In addition to Pottstown firefighters, assistance was provided by the Sanatoga, Norco and Upper Pottsgrove fire companies, as well as fire police, who shut down King Street between Manatawny and York streets.