By Assistant Chief Jim Eden, Lee’s Summit Fire Department

LEE’S SUMMIT, MO – On Monday, April 24, 2023, at 6:15 p.m., the Lee’s Summit Fire Department initially responded to an automatic fire alarm at the Quality Inn, 1020 SE Blue Parkway.

The incident was upgraded to a structure fire when someone with the
business reported smoke on the third floor. Nothing was visible outside the three-story, 63-room hotel when the fire department arrived. The alarms were sounding, and the guests were evacuating the building. Staff
reported smoke coming from the wall around a heating and cooling unit in room 321.
Firefighters opened the wall around the window and heating and cooling unit, extinguishing a smoldering fire. There was no spread beyond the area of the window. Firefighters removed the smoke from the floor, and the guests were allowed to reoccupy the hotel.

The incident was under control 6:35 p.m. The fire damaged the inside of the wall and the Styrofoam-backed exterior siding around the window. As a result, the room could not be reoccupied, and the guests were
relocated to another room.

The fire is considered accidental, but the cause is still under investigation.