PHOTOS, VIDEO: 3-alarm fire tears through West Beltway Motel 6, leaving extensive damage

HOUSTON – A three-alarm fire tore through a Motel 6 on West Sam Houston Parkway South Tuesday afternoon.

Sky 2 was over the motel located at 2900 W Sam Houston Pkwy. Large flames and smoke were seen coming from the building and some saw the smoke from miles away.

“The building became too dangerous for firefighters to be inside. So they had to retreat, evacuate the building and go defensive, meaning they had to fight this fire from the outside,” HFD Capt. Sedrick Robinett said.

About 100 firefighters battled the flames as ladder trucks surrounded the three-story building.

Firefighters with the Houston Fire Department were able to completely extinguish the fire. Crews stayed on the scene for about six hours.

The cause hasn’t been determined, but HFD Chief Samuel Peña told KPRC 2 that investigators are looking into unconfirmed reports of problems with the motel’s sprinkler system.

HFD said no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported, despite working through triple-digit temperatures.

The fire quickly upgraded to three-alarm because of the heat, HFD said.

“It was much needed for resources and manpower, just to rotate crews in and out the building so we could safely attack this fire without injuring themselves,” Capt. Robinett said.

The department thanked METRO Houston for providing a bus for firefighters to cool down on.

A spokesperson for the American Red Cross told KPRC 2 they sent a team of volunteers to help people who now don’t have a place to live. Red Cross said they assisted 11 families who were long-term residents of the motel. KPRC 2 spoke with a few of those people off-camera who said they have been living at the motel for several months and were devastated because several of their belongings were still inside.

The motel manager also assisted 36 other families who were not long-term residents by reimbursing them for their stay.

See photos from the scene: