This photo shows the back of the Comfort Inn and Suites Comfort Inn & Suites on Crawford Avenue in Merritt on fire in the early hours of June 13.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jacob Sutherland

Merritt teenagers Jacob Sutherland and Jayda Bonner didn’t hesitate to take action when they saw flames coming from the Comfort Inn & Suites on Crawford Avenue in the wee hours Friday.

“There was no one outside, no alarm, no nothing, we thought we had to get people out right away,” Bonner, 17, told iNFOnews.ca.

Neither teen has background in emergency work, nor had they ever seen a building on fire before.

The pair were driving home from the hospital just after 1 a.m. where Bonner was treated for an injury sustained in an e-scooter accident.

“We were leaving the hospital and stopped at a red light and Jacob said is that a fire? Should we go over there?” Bonner said.

She grabbed his phone and dialled 911.

“Looking from the front of the building, the fire was at the back and sparks were coming up,” Sutherland, 18, said. “Nobody knew it was happening.” 

Bonner handed the phone to Sutherland and ran inside the hotel where she ran up and down the hallways yelling and banging on doors.

“People started coming out and I told them to get moving,” she said. “I went up a flight of stairs and made it half way down the hall yelling. I went up to the third floor and opened the door and there was smoke everywhere, I couldn’t see down the hallway.

“One lady swung her door open and stared and asked which way do I go? I pointed her to the stairs and she said thank you and booked it.”

Merritt residents Jacob Sutherland (left) and Jayda Bonner pictured in this undated photo.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jacob Sutherland

Bonner was still in the car on the phone with 911.

“I was put on hold at some point because I’m sure they were getting more calls,” he said. “About ten seconds later the alarm sounded. People were coming out in their pajamas, one guy was in his underwear, not even dressed.”

RCMP and fire crews showed up while the teens stayed for a little while, talking to hotel guests before heading up to the top of a bank overlooking the flames at the back of the building.

“I’ve never been in any situation like that,” Sutherland said. “I wasn’t thinking about it at the time but after I realized there were so many little things that put us right there at that exact time.”

The pair haven’t returned to the building since to see the full scope of the damage. They are a bit shaken up by the incident.

“What if we weren’t there, I watched amazing people come out of there, what if they just stayed sleeping,” Bonner said. “Some people I talked to said they didn’t think anything of the alarm at first, that it could’ve been a false alarm. It isn’t an everyday thing for a hotel to catch on fire, they weren’t expecting that.”

Everyone evacuated the hotel safely and no injuries were reported, however the cause of the fire is under investigation as it is deemed suspicious.

A large portion of the building was engulfed in flames and the damage is extensive.

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