Bathroom fire forces hotel evacuation

SANDPOINT — The Quality Inn was evacuated Wednesday after fire broke out in an upstairs bathroom.

There were no injuries, Sandpoint Fire Chief Robert Tyler said.

More than 30 guests were evacuated from the Fifth Avenue motel. Another two dozen diners and patrons of Mitzy’s Lounge, the motel’s restaurant and bar, also had to be evacuated shortly after 6:30 p.m.

Fifth Avenue, between Larch Street and motel’s northernmost entrance, was briefly closed to traffic as firefighters, officers and paramedics descended upon the scene, police Chief Mark Lockwood said.

Tyler said a room-and-contents fire was discovered in the bathroom, which was situated above the motel’s lobby.

“It was confined to the bathroom,” said Tyler.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Firefighters from the Sagle and Northside fire districts responded, as did medics from Bonner County Emergency Medical Services.