Hazards growing after abandoned motel catches fire sixth time in a month

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Firefighters say an abandoned Southeast Oklahoma City motel is growing increasingly hazardous to the public after it caught on fire for the sixth time in less than a month Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to reports of flames at the former Rodeway Inn at I-35 and SE 66^th around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The fire grew intense at times, becoming a three-alarm fire after part of the exterior walkways on the motel’s second floor collapsed.

“We probably have 60-70 firefighters on scene right now, said John Chenowith with the Oklahoma City Fire Department (OKCFD).

Since mid-June, not one week has gone by without the abandoned motel catching fire at least once.

“I don't know exact number of times we've been out here, but we've been out here multiple, multiple times throughout the month,” Chenowith said.

News 4 has reported about firefighters responding the motel at least six separate times in the past month.  

OKCFD responded to two separate fires at the motel on June 24.

They responded to separate fires again on July 1, July 4 and July 7, before responding again on Wednesday.

“This is the largest fire we've had in this property so far,” Chenoweth said on Wednesday. “We're finding this defensive. We're not putting any of our firefighters at risk right now.”

Chenoweth said, even once the flames are out, it will never be safe for anyone to go inside the building.

“This is definitely hazardous,” he said. “There are collapsed glass ceilings, plethora of collapsed floors in this property.”