BLACKWOOD, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) -- Flames shooting through the roof could be seen from a mile away as a four-alarm fire tore through a hotel in Blackwood, New Jersey, on Wednesday morning.
The rising sun revealed extensive damage caused by the fire at the Howard Johnson hotel on the Black Horse Pike. A huge section of the roof on the back end of the building was completely burnt out.
Jenesha, who was staying there, said she packed up and brought her two little girls, ages 1 and 4, out to safety.
"My daughter was terrified, so I was terrified," she said.
She said she is thankful someone went around banging on doors to tell people to get out.
"I don’t know if she stayed here or not, but there was a girl out there banging on every door, telling everybody to get up. And when we walked outside, the whole top was in flames," she said.
Gloucester Township Police Lt. Jason Gittens says calls started coming in around 3:30 a.m. By the time emergency response teams arrived on scene, just about everyone who was in the building was outside already.
"There are no injuries," he said. "We’re very fortunate that there were no injuries."
A portion of the Black Horse Pike near Coles Road was closed for several hours during and after the fire, and it reopened just before 8 a.m.