Fire officials are working to determine the cause of a multi-alarm fire at a Gordon Highway motel Tuesday.
The fire at the Days Inn at the intersection of Molly Pond Road and Gordon Highway broke out just before 11 a.m.
At first, there was just a little bit of smoke coming out of the eaves, said Gary Courtney, of Hickory Valley, Tenn., who had checked out before the blaze.
The fire grew and apparently spread between the first and second floors, moving along the walls and the floor. It then spread to other rooms.
Ten Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department companies were called out, and 30 to 40 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, Deputy Chief Carl Scott said.
No one was seriously injured in the blaze, he said, but some firefighters were treated for minor injuries related to heat and smoke. He said authorities didn't know where in the motel the fire started.
Firefighters remained at the scene after the main blaze, working to make sure "hot spots" were extinguished, Chief Scott said.
It was not exactly known how many guests were staying at the motel or how many were in town for the Masters Tournament.
Two guests who are golf fans, Randy Jones and Steve Wright, of Charlotte, N.C., spent the morning watching firefighters battle the blaze.
"I turned and looked and saw smoke coming out of the rooms," Mr. Jones said.
As Mr. Wright was getting ready to go, Mr. Jones said, "Buddy, you might want to pick up the pace because the building's on fire."
If it hadn't been for saying "no" to a room change, they might have had a hotter Masters experience.
Mr. Jones said that after they checked in Monday a leak was discovered, and motel personnel offered to move them to a different room. That room was next to Room 219, which sustained heavy damage in the blaze.
After intervention by City Administrator Fred Russell the Charlotte men were allowed to retrieve their car from a closed-off area of the motel and head for Augusta National Golf Club.
Arvinder Singh, a manager at the motel, said arrangements were being made to accommodate guests who were displaced.
He said it will probably take at least six months to get operations back to normal.
Reach Jeremy Craig at (706) 823-3409 or jeremy.craig@augustachronicle.com.
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