SCHERTZ, Texas – Investigators have determined that an electrical issue caused the Schertz hotel to go up in flames Saturday night.
"It’s believed a light fixture started the fire on the exterior wall, located on the first floor of the building. Behind the light was a void space that led to the attic where the fire spread," Schertz Fire Marshal Thomas Pinder said Tuesday.
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Around 8:52 p.m. Saturday, multiple crews with several city fire departments went to the La Quinta Inn and Suites in the 17600 block of Four Oaks Lane to battle the blaze.
It took firefighters nearly six hours to finally extinguish flames.
A video shared with KSAT.com showed the fire at its peak, with flames shooting from the roof of the hotel.
Officials said 146 people were evacuated from the hotel, and three people injured in the fire were taken to a hospital. An update on their conditions was not provided by officials.
Pinder said because fire and building codes do not require a suppression system in the attic space, there were no sprinklers in that affected area of the building.
Water damage was present on every floor of the hotel, along with fire damage to nine rooms on separate floors.
Damage was estimated to be more than $1 million.