Motel fire near Stratford leaves 1 seriously hurt

Fire destroys popular Stratford motel From CTV Kitchener's Leighanne Evans: A fire destroyed the Forest Motel in Stratford and left one person seriously injured.

KITCHENER — A fire at a motel just east of Stratford has left one person seriously hurt.

Fire crews reported that they were responding to the fire just before 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, calling it a "working structure fire" on Forest Road in Perth East.

The Ontario Provincial Police shared a photo of the scene on Twitter, identifying the building as a motel.

"One person taken to local hospital with serious injuries," the post read in part.

Crews were at the scene all day Tuesday to battle the blaze.

Flames and smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the Forest Motel when crews arrived.

"We're still investigating how many rooms were rented," Perth East Fire Chief Bill Hunter said. "We do know there was at least one."

Officials blocked off the area while emergency crews and investigators were on scene. It's not yet clear what caused the fire and officials have not shared a damage estimate.

"The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has been consulted, and the Perth County Major Crime Unit is assisting with the investigation," police said in a news release issued on Tuesday afternoon.

"We've notified the Ontario Fire Marshall based on what we call a large loss fire," Hunter said. "We're suspecting it is going to be a considerate dollar amount."

It's also a loss for the community.

"It's devastating," said Bob Purewal. "It was so nice. The family who owns it, they're the nicest family."