Owners’ Quarters Burn at Colton Court, Cats Perish

CAPE MAY – The owners’ residence at Colton Court Motor Inn caught fire just before 8 p.m. Mon., April 18. Officials at the Cape May Fire Department told the Herald the next day there were no injuries but two of the owners’ cats perished. Several more, they said, were rescued by firefighters on the scene.
Volunteers and members of the department were doing their monthly drill not far from the motel when they got the call that it was on fire. Officials said when they arrived the owners’ quarters were on fire with smoke bellowing from the residence.
Firefighters knocked out windows to ventilate the home and ran an “attack line” to quell the flames. The fire was completely under control, officials said, within 10 to 15 minutes.
The owners of the motel, who live in the residence that caught fire, were home when the fire started and made it out safely. Fire crews evacuated the tenants staying at the motor inn’s units, about 50 people, officials said.
No one was allowed back in the structure because the units suffered smoke damage.
However, officials said, the motel itself didn’t sustain any serious damage from the flames.
The fire burned just the owners’ living quarters, officials said, a two-story home that wasn’t directly attached to rental portion of the motel.
That dwelling had significant damage on the first floor where the fire is believed to have started in a single bedroom located off of an office.
Officials said that portion of the home took on fire, smoke and water damage. The floor above it, they said, was also damaged but not as severely. It is believed that the cats that were rescued survived the fire because they were on the second floor, officials said.
Officials did not confirm the cause of the fire. It remains under investigation.
The Coast Guard and the West Cape May Fire Department also assisted on scene. Additionally, the Cape May Fire Department was assisted by Town Bank, which covered Cape May’s station and Lower Township Rescue, which also assisted with that endeavor, officials said.