Still no cause in motel fire

Fifty-five people are homeless after a fire broke out at the Wayne Motel Saturday morning.

David Caray used to live at the motel and came back to see the damage one day after. "It's unbelievable," he said. "I can't believe something like this happened. It's tough because there were memories here you know."

Firefighters from New Haven, Fort Wayne, St. Joe, Woodburn, and Hagan were called in to control the flames that started in Room 11 of the motel. The occupant of that room fled, and investigators have not been able to find him.

Investigators aren't ruling out arson. Chuck Lehman, the public information officer for the Allen County Police Department said all he has is a name for the person who rented the room, but he has a lot of questions.

"It may not have been criminal, but was it criminal?" Lehman said. "Did he do it on purpose, or was it by accident? Did he get scared and leave?"

Lehman said the destruction was so widespread because of the way the motel was built. When it was constructed, buildings weren't required to have fire stops in attics.

"Had this been a building lets say that was brand new, that fire that broke out in room 11 probably would've contained itself to that room," Lehman said.

He estimated the total cost of damages around $225,000 and said it could take months for the repairs to be finished.

"It's going to be quite an upset for them to have to come back and get their personal belongings to have to come back and find a place to stay while this facility gets reconstructed," Lehman said.

As of now, the Red Cross is helping to house the fire victims in a Fort Wayne hotel.