Updated: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29
An attic fire at the Extended Stay America in Merriam which forced the evacuation of several residents Tuesday afternoon, was likely caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette, according to investigators.
Firefighters from Overland Park and Shawnee were called to the hotel at 6455 East Frontage Road at about 1:50 p.m.
A caller in a second-floor unit reported alarms sounding and smoke visible.
Merriam police were first to arrive on the scene and reported that the fire was on the east side of the building.
The fire was brought under control within about 10 minutes.
Jason Rhodes, the Overland Park Fire Department spokesperson, says there was no damage to the living units, and no injuries were reported.
In a statement later Wednesday morning, Rhodes said the cause was “careless discard of smoking material.”
“Likely a cigarette butt in the mulch that communicated into the void in the pillar on the edge of the southern stairwell,” Rhodes said in his statement.
Firefighters broke through the building’s facade around a stairwell to check for hotspots.
Rhodes said the fire did not reach into the main part of the building, nor into any living areas.
There was also no structural damage to the burnt stairwell, which Rhodes said is still usable.
