3 people die when fire spreads through Ohio motel

WOOSTER, Ohio — Three people died in their motel room in Ohio on Wednesday when a fire broke out and they were trapped inside the room, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 1:30 a.m. ET at an Econo Lodge in Wooster, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. When firefighters arrived, flames were seen coming through the roof, Wooster Township Fire Chief Dallas Terrell said.

According to the Wayne County Coroner’s office, a man and two women died in the blaze, WKYC reported. They were identified as Hiteshkumar Suthar, Hinaben Suthar and Isha Suthar, according to the television station.

Their ages were not revealed, but Terrell told the television station that the three victims were adults.

“En route we were told by dispatch that there are people on 911 saying they’re trapped in the building,” Terrell told WKYC. ”Our first arriving engine arrived on scene with heavy flames through the roof and made several rescue attempts to try to reach the people in that room. Efforts were unsuccessful.”

One firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze, WEWS reported.

April Graser, a motel employee who was working when the fire broke out, said the night was quiet until alarms went off.

“The guy that stayed in 121 came running to the door and told me to call 911, that there was a fire,” Graser told the television station.

Moments later, she looked up at the hotel’s security cameras and saw flames consuming the southwest corner of the building.

Graser said the telephone at the front desk rang, and it was Hiteshkumar Sutharone, who said he was trapped in the room, USA Today reported.

, WEWS reported.

“He told me, ‘Please, please, April, please.’ I said, I called 911,” Graser told WEWS. “He was begging me to get help because they were trapped in the building, they couldn’t get out of their apartment, and I heard her crying, I heard them all screaming and crying.”

Graser said the phone went dead at that point, USA Today reported.

The fire was elevated to a five-alarm call due to “the complexity and size of the fire,” Terrell told WKYC.

Fifteen fire departments and approximately 70 firefighters responded, Terrell added.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Wooster Township Fire Department, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the State Fire Marshals Office.

“This is a horrible tragedy, and we’re very sorry for their loss,” he said. “We pay respects to the families and friends of the victims, and we’re going to do everything we can to try and figure out what caused it.”

The motel remains closed. Some guests have been relocated to other hotels, while others are receiving assistance from the Red Cross, WEWS reported.

Wooster is about 62 miles south of Cleveland.

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