Sarasota police officers help evacuate motel during early morning fire
By: -----
Sarasota, FL - Sarasota police officers are being praised for their quick response after a fire broke out at a motel Saturday morning, forcing guests to evacuate.
The fire happened just before 7 a.m. at the Cadillac Motel in the 4000 block of North Tamiami Trail.
Body camera video shows Sarasota police officers arriving at the motel and immediately warning guests to get out.
“Get out, there’s a fire! Police department!” an officer can be heard yelling while knocking on doors.
Officers Brendan Cook and Krista Gagnon were among those who responded. Video shows officers moving from room to room as flames spread, and fiery debris fell around them.
“With the room fully engulfed, your first thought is, is anyone in there,” Cook said. “And obviously we don’t want anything bad to happen to anybody.”
Gagnon said neither officer hesitated when they arrived.
“I don’t think either one of us thought twice about it,” Gagnon said. “I mean, we get a call for service, and we respond to the calls for service.”
During the evacuation, some guests initially wanted to grab their belongings before leaving.
“I need my stuff,” one guest can be heard saying.
“No! Get out!” an officer responds.
Gagnon later offered a warning for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
“Word to the wise, if the room next to you is on fire and law enforcement is telling you to evacuate the room, forget your shoes, forget your wallet, just get out of the room,” Gagnon said.
Cook said responding to a fire of that magnitude comes with an immediate rush of adrenaline.
“When you’re the first one on scene, and you see a room that’s fully engulfed in flames, it kind of gets the adrenaline going, and you have to put your best foot forward and get to work,” Cook said.
Body camera footage captures officers continuing to check the motel and making sure guests had gotten out.
“Everybody’s out on this side?” one officer asks.
“Yeah,” another responds.
One person was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials believe the fire started in a room before spreading into the attic.