GRANBY – Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early morning blaze that tore through a section of the Granby Motel on Friday.
First responders at the scene assisted with the evacuation of occupants from the building at 5 West State St. and no injuries were reported, according to Granby Police. Route 202 was closed to traffic while firefighters extinguished the fire.
Granby Police said they they received several emergency 911 calls at around 1 a.m. for an active structure fire a the motel, which occurred in a four-unit building at the north end of the property.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to knock down the fire, said Granby Fire Department Lt. Richard Stefanowicz. Crews were on scene for about four hours dealing with the fire and the ensuing clean-up.
Motel employee Hetal Petal said Friday morning that she was in her room when she saw the fire and called police.
She said that some of those staying at the motel tried to help fight the fire but police urged people to stay away.
One of the units in the four-unit building was occupied at the time of the fire, Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart said Friday afternoon. The unit where the fire was believed to have originated, the third from the street, was unoccupied, Wishart said.
Neither Wishart nor Stefanowicz were able to comment on the cause or the amount of damage the fire caused.
Wishart said he could not say whether the fire is deemed suspicious.
In addition to Granby police and firefighters, several other departments responded to assist at the scene, including fire departments from South Hadley, Westover, Belchertown and Ludlow.
The Massachusetts State Police and state Fire Marshal’s Office were also called to assist with the investigation.
The 18-room motel sits on a 2.5 acres off of West State Street near the Granby and South Hadley town lines. According to the town, the property is owned by Aksharpurshotam LLC and was purchased in 2016.
Dan Crowley contributed to this report. Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.
This story has been updated.