Dramatic Scenes From Houston Fire

Friday may have been the deadliest day in the history of the Houston Fire Department, officials said, with four firefighters killed while battling a five-alarm blaze that ripped through a large motel on the city’s busy Southwest Freeway. Five more firefighters were taken to area hospitals with injuries, but little information about their condition was available on Friday evening.

A cameraman for a local Fox affiliate in Houston captured dramatic footage of the fire and its aftermath from a helicopter flying above the scene on Friday afternoon. Towering flames leapt from the roof of the motel, the Southwest Inn, and dark smoke hung in the sky overhead. The front section of the building appeared to have collapsed.

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A Fox news affiliate in Houston captured dramatic footage of the fire and its aftermath.

An update posted to Vine, a social media video service, by a user who identified himself as Joshua Kyle Hoppe appeared to show the collapsed front of the Southwest Inn. The video appeared to have been taken from a car driving past the damaged building at some point after the fire was brought under control.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Janice Evans, a spokeswoman for Mayor Annise Parker, said she believed Friday to be the deadliest day in the fire department’s 116-year history.

“It’s a very sad day for the Houston Fire Department and the city of Houston as a whole,” Ms. Evans said.