23 July, 2025 1 category

A fast-moving fire at a Red Roof Inn in White Settlement prompted a large emergency response early Monday morning.

The fire started around 5:20 a.m. at a Red Roof Inn on the 8500 block of West Freeway off Interstate 30.

Officials said the blaze was first reported by White Settlement Police officers who happened to be driving nearby and saw the flames shooting out of one of the buildings. The sergeant and a fellow officer pulled up to the hotel and started knocking on windows to get people evacuated safely.

“They did a great job,” said White Settlement Fire Chief Rick Sanderson. “They potentially saved a hundred lives or more. Anybody in this building and even the next building. So that early detection, that early evacuation is really what saves lives.”

Firefighters from White Settlement, Lake Worth, Benbrook, and Lockheed Martin responded to the scene. Three engines, two ladder trucks, and a rescue unit were dispatched in total.

“I smelled a little bit of smoke, and I popped my head out, and the whole wall was just orange. The glass was cracking, so I grabbed my dog and just ran outside,” said Patrick Daugherty, who was staying in a room two units away from the flames. “I know me and my dog are OK, so that’s really all that’s important to me. If it’s not OK, we can replace it.”

Firefighters were able to put out the flames within the hour. Officials said at least seven units were heavily damaged by smoke, flames, and water.

Nicole Kaplan was staying in the room right next to the main area of fire and said she was thankful for the police, who intervened to get everyone out safely.

“I was up because of the smoke, but they were really helpful. I saw them waking up everybody and going in and making sure everything was taken care of. They were really, really good,” she said.

Officer Wesley Gregory was one of the officers responding, and said they only had moments to act. He said the flames were moving fast, and people were still inside their rooms.

“There were flames coming out of the room and there was siding falling off, hitting the ground, the crackle off the flames, the smoke alarms were going off,” said Gregory.

He recalled knocking on doors and windows to get people out of their rooms.

“It’s a matter of life or death,” he said. “At that point we don’t know who’s in the room. We don’t know if there is anybody in the room adjoining it.”

Martin Juarez was in room 119 just beneath the flames shooting out from the second floor. He was awakened by the commotion.

“At first, I thought there was fighting in the room because you could hear glass breaking and heavy footsteps,” said Juarez.

Officer Gregory tells NBC 5 he’s gone back to watch the body camera footage and sees the risks in hindsight. Still, he said he would do it all over again if it meant saving lives.

The close collaboration between the police and fire departments was critical to the successful outcome, Sanderson said.

“We do have a good partnership with the White Settlement Police Department,” he added. “It’s a small town in many ways, even though we’re in the middle of the Metroplex. But we operate as a small town, and we consider all these folks to be family.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The White Settlement Fire Marshal is currently working closely with the Tarrant County Fire Marshal’s Office to determine what sparked the flames.

Category: Sofia Hotels

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