Cause of major fire at Schertz hotel under investigation

SCHERTZ, Texas – Fire officials are investigating what caused a blaze at a Schertz hotel Saturday night.

The fire broke out around 9 p.m. at the La Quinta Inn at Farm to Market Road 3009 and I-35.

Chris Cantu, a KSAT 12 viewer, shared video of the scene. In the video, flames are seen shooting from the roof of the hotel.

Two witnesses said they were driving along I-35 when they saw "huge, bright flames" shooting from the hotel. They said they rushed to park and see what was going on, noting that such a sight was uncommon for their small town.

Officials said three individuals injured in the fire were taken to a hospital, treated and released Sunday. A dog that was found not moving on the third floor was also rescued from the fire and is on its way to recovery after being nursed back to health by Schertz emergency medical services and animal control, according to a news release from the city.

Linda Klepper, public affairs director for the city of Schertz, said Sunday that Cibolo, Selma, San Antonio, Live Oak, Bracken, Universal City, New Braunfels, and Randolph fire departments all assisted in battling the fire. 

Crews from St. Hedwig and New Berlin fire departments also assisted by covering the Schertz fire stations while crews responded to the fire.

According to Klepper, windy weather caused the flames to reignite, making the fire difficult to extinguish. Klepper said that firefighters worked through the night, fully putting out the flames around 2:45 a.m. Sunday.

A total of 146 people were evacuated from the hotel and were sent to other hotels in the area, according to a news release. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.


About the Authors:

Japhanie Gray joined 10 News as an anchor in March 2022.