WEST ELLICOTT, N.Y. (WIVB) — Four people were hospitalized after a fire broke out at a Chautauqua County motel Tuesday morning, county officials said.

Dispatchers say the first calls about a fire at the Colony Motel came in shortly after 5:30 a.m. Crews were still at the scene hours later, with Fairmount Avenue expected to be closed for much of the day. As of midday Tuesday, crews were still working to contain hotspots.

Approximately 15 motel guests were displaced. Celeron Hose Company Chief Jamison Justham says they’re receiving assistance from the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

“We’ve used a significant amount of water to extinguish the blaze,” Justham said in a release.
“Once the fire is safely contained, fire investigators will begin looking into a cause.”

At the time the fire broke out, the building, located near the intersection of Glidden, was occupied. Initially, there was a report of entrapment, but firefighters say that person was able to get out safely and was uninjured.

When crews first got to the scene, there was a significant amount of fire at the back end of the building, which spread out in the first and second stories of the building.

There was a partial collapse as a result of the fire, and a structural demolition of the motel ordered by the Town of Ellicott began Tuesday afternoon.

Commuters who travel around the area of the blaze were advised by fire officials to seek a different way home.