Fire Breaks Out Again At Abandoned Rancho Cordova Motel
RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) – Firefighters were called out to a troublesome building in Rancho Cordova after a fire broke out at the abandoned motel early Monday morning.
The fire started at the former Value Inn Motel on Folsom Boulevard near Mather Field Boulevard at about 5:30 a.m. Firefighters found four units engulfed but were able to stop the spread of the blaze.
The hotel has been abandoned for several years and has been the source of several fires since than as homeless people have moved in.
The City wants the owner to tear down the building. City officials say they've spent $200,000 taxpayer dollars with constant police visits to kick out vagrants and code enforcement checks.
When firefighters arrived Monday morning, they say several squatters were asleep in some of the rooms. However, they ran from the building and there are no reports of injuries.
There is no electricity to the motel. Arson investigators determined the fire to have started in a downstairs unit on the back side of the complex. Investigators believe a squatter was staying in the unit and likely caused the fire.
This is not the first time firefighters have responded to the motel. The building was set on fire in November of 2010. Firefighters then said they had found homeless people sleeping in the air-conditioning ducts.
