“…vapors from gasoline stored there apparently ignited the pilot light in the water heater…it took 90 minutes for more than 50 firefighters from the town, Monetta, Ridge Spring and Lexington County to bring the blaze under control…”
A motel on the east side of town is closed after fire destroyed two-thirds of the 27-room structure, authorities said. Damage to the Leesville Lodge is estimated at $300,000, fire chief Jay Hendrix said.
The fire started shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday in the laundry room at the 27-year-old motel in the 600 block of East Columbia Avenue, he said.