Fire Erupts At Popular Red Jacket Resort In North Conway, NH
NORTH CONWAY, N.H. (CBS) -- A massive fire broke out Saturday afternoon at Red Jacket Mountain View Resort, a popular hotel in North Conway, New Hampshire.
The fire started on the third floor in the south wing of the resort a little before 3 p.m.
The New Hampshire Fire Marshal said "at one point, some guests could be seen jumping from upper-level to lower-level balconies before safely escaping at the ground level."
Two firefighters and one person were treated for minor injuries. All three were taken to the Memorial Hospital as a precaution.
"At this time, there have been no reports of unaccounted for guests, and those who were staying at the Red Jacket have been offered hospitality at another nearby resort," the State Fire Marshal said.
The resort is a family retreat in New Hampshire's White Mountains and is home to Kahuna Laguna, an indoor water park.
Witnesses told WBZ-TV that roughly half of the building went up in flames and the roof collapsed.
"The entire right-hand section is completely collapsed. There's nothing left of that. And it has now spread to the next section over. We've heard a lot of people on the lawn, in the streets saying what a tragedy and how they love coming here," said witness Staci Huckins, who saw the fire unfold from the front lawn of the hotel. "We just saw the smoke in the distance as we were heading down Route 16 and decided to see if we can find out where it was coming from. As we got closer, we saw more smoke and we got to the building and it looked like the first maybe three or four rooms on the very right-hand side were engulfed."
Fire departments from 28 towns helped put out the fire.
"It's pretty incredible based on how many people are in the building, and to have only three injuries is pretty significant," said witness Josiah Huchins.
Route 16 was closed for a little while, but re-opened later Saturday night.
Hotels around that area are offering free rooms to families affected by this. A lot of them lost everything they packed.