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'I could see the panic': Man breaks hotel window to help couple escape fire

A man broke a hotel window to help a senior couple out of their room when a fire started early Monday morning.

Posted Updated

By
Brett Knese
, WRAL multimedia journalist
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A man broke a hotel window to help a senior couple out of their room when a fire started early Monday morning.

Firefighters responded to the Clarion Hotel on Cedar Creek Road around 12:45 a.m., where a fire was reported in a first floor room.

One guest, Austin Adams, grabbed a trash can lid and smashed a window to help a scared couple get out of their hotel room.

"When I went back to the hallway door, it was pitch black smoke and it hit me like a tidal wave," Adams said. "I could see the panic in their eyes so I acted as fast as I could. I thought, screw the repercussions, if I was taking any. I had to save lives."

Man breaks Fayetteville hotel window to help couple escape from fire

According to the Fayetteville Fire Department, dozens of guests were evacuated due to heavy smoke in the building. At least one person suffered smoke inhalation and was treated by Cape Fear Valley EMS.

Forty-six firefighters from the Fayetteville and the Vander Fire Department worked to extinguish the fire and make sure all hotel guests were safely outside.

The American Red Cross is assisting between 60 and 70 guests who couldn't return to their rooms after the fire.

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