Phoenix, Arizona: Second-Alarm Fire Guts Vacant Travelodge Near I-17 and Greenway Road

A large fire tore through a vacant hotel building in north Phoenix early on Friday, October 23, sending flames through the roof and drawing a second-alarm response from the Phoenix Fire Department. Nobody was injured, officials said, and investigators were still working at the site hours later to find out how the fire started.

Crews were called just after 5:30 a.m. to the Travelodge by Wyndham near 25th Avenue and Greenway Road, just off Interstate 17, according to KTVK and KPHO (AZ Family). The Arizona Republic reported that officials responded around 5:45 a.m. and found a vacant building with heavy smoke and flames coming through the roof, citing Capt. Mike Johnson, a Fire Department spokesperson.

A second alarm, and a fire fought from above

Because of the size of the fire and the threat it posed to nearby occupied buildings, the incident was upgraded to a second-alarm assignment, Johnson said. A second alarm brings in additional firefighters and equipment beyond a standard first response.

Firefighters were able to limit the spread of the fire and fought it from above, the Republic reported. AZ Family reported that crews had the blaze under control in about half an hour. The building is believed to have been vacant, but firefighters still needed to clear it to make sure no one was inside, the station reported.

The fire stayed a local story with a wide reach on Friday morning. FOX 10 Phoenix carried live pictures from Arizona Department of Transportation traffic cameras near I-17 and Greenway Road, and ABC15 also reported the second-alarm response at the same corner.

The second fire at the same hotel in two months

Friday's fire was the second at the same Travelodge property in just over two months. On August 16, a fire broke out at the hotel at around 3 a.m. and also grew to a second-alarm response. FOX 10 reported at the time that 30 guests were evacuated from their rooms, that heavy smoke and fire were coming from the second floor, and that more than 50 units were affected. AZ Family reported that 30 people were displaced by that August fire. No one was hurt in August either, and the Community Assistance Program worked with hotel management to move guests to new rooms.

That history is part of why Friday's call drew a large response even though the building that burned this time was vacant. A vacant building can still hold people sheltering inside, which is why crews planned to clear the structure once the fire was out.

What is not known yet

The cause of Friday's fire is not known. Johnson told the Republic that fire officials were working to determine what caused it, and investigators remained at the site hours after the flames were out. The Fire Department reported no injuries. Officials have not said how much of the vacant building was damaged, or whether the fire affected traffic on Interstate 17 beyond the pictures shown from the freeway cameras during the morning response.