Fire Destroys 50-60 Rooms at Longview, Texas, Ramada Inn

More than 50 rooms at a Longview, Texas, hotel were destroyed April 13 in a fire that officials said was made more difficult by low water pressure.

Fire officials believe the blaze that heavily damaged the Ramada Inn off Spur 63 in this East Texas city may have begun in the attic. The exact cause has not been determined.

Authorities say no one was injured in the fire. About 20 to 30 people were displaced by the fire, Tyler television station KLTV reported.

Fire Marshal Jimmy Purcell told the Longview News-Journal that the high number of trucks using two water hydrants caused the limited water pressure and made it difficult to keep the fire from spreading. Firefighters had the blaze contained within a couple of hours.

Hotel manager Carole Kyle said they had to move 14 Union Pacific Railroad workers from Little Rock, Ark., to other hotels.

Railroad worker M.W. Redus of Little Rock, Ark., said he was asleep when fire alarms sounded and hotel management knocked on the door to tell everyone to leave. He told the newspaper they grabbed everything and left as quickly as they could.

Longview is about 120 miles east of Dallas.