ROCKINGHAM — A police officer is being credited for helping save lives as an early-morning blaze at a hotel brought out three departments, leaving the building in ruins.
Rockingham Fire Chief Harold Isler said the call came in around 2:47 a.m. and by the time crews arrived, flames were already through the roof and the second floor of the Regal Inn was fully engulfed.
The person who made the call was Sgt. Dusty Johnson, according to Rockingham Police Chief Billy Kelly.
Johnson was on patrol when he noticed smoke coming from the hotel, Kelly said. Johnson then started knocking on doors to get the guests out of their rooms.
“That was a big help,” Isler said.
Kelly said once other officers arrived on the scene, they began to do the same.
In a video taken by the Daily Journal, one of the guests — who was standing out in the cold, carrying a duffle bag — can be heard describing his experience.
“I heard police cars show up and I heard shouting next door and I thought there was some disturbance with them,” he said. “Then all of a sudden they started banging on my door, and I said, ‘F—-, I didn’t do anything wrong.’ I opened up the door and the dude’s like, ‘Get out! The place is on fire!’”
“I think it was very fortunate that (Johnson) was in that area at the time,” Kelly said. “It could have been a whole lot worse…I thank God that officer was there and did what he did.”
Cordova Fire and Rescue was called out immediately for manpower to assist battling the blaze, Isler said.
Several guests were standing near the edge of the property when they were told to get back. Less than a minute later, a nearby power line snapped less than 50 feet away.
Hamlet Fire and Rescue arrived soon after to lend its ladder truck, attacking the right side of the building.
Isler said there were about 27 firemen on the scene between the three departments.
“It was fortunate, as fast as that fire traveled, there were no fatalities,” he said. “Everybody made it out.”
“That was a big help,” he said.
The fire was under control shortly after 4 a.m. and firemen began searching the upstairs rooms.
According to Isler, they learned about 15 rooms at the two-story hotel were rented out at the time of the fire — which was still being investigated around lunch time.
Several of the guests walked to the lodge across the street. Kelly said the American Red Cross was called and the guests were placed at another hotel.
“We had a good idea what room it started in, but not enough information to determine the cause,” Isler said.
Kelly said the location of the blaze’s origin was upstairs, above the office, but early Monday evening, the cause was still undetermined.
The Rockingham Police Department called in the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation for assistance. The SBI — according to Kelly — in turn, called the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
Isler said the building is a total loss and the two floors above the office were burned the worst.
Kelly said he hopes to have more information by the end of the week or first of next week.
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.
