Fire inspectors were back at the West Side Hotel after flames tore through the well-known establishment along South Main Avenue early Wednesday.

SCRANTON, Pa. — By daybreak, the flames that burned through the West Side Hotel on South Main Avenue in Scranton had been extinguished.

But the ordeal for the more than two dozen people who lived in the building’s apartments was far from over.

Just a few hours earlier, the decades-old West Scranton landmark was ablaze and writhed in choking smoke.

Scranton Fire Chief John Judge said three residents, one firefighter, and one police officer were briefly taken to the hospital.

“Our crews rescued 5-6 people over ladders and helped get some people out from inside.  We continued to search the inside, but the fire was pretty progressed,” said Chief Judge.

Jim Marchesani lived there for two decades. He woke to the sound of a fire alarm as smoke poured from cracks in the door. The horrifying reality set in: fire, time to move.

“And I thought about collecting my stuff. And I thought I’d better not because I might not have time to do all that. I dived out into the hallway, and I went out down the steps. I tripped a couple times, got back up, went to the second floor, tripped again, and by the time I got back to the bottom of the step, there was a cop there. He guided me out,” said Marchesani.

Marchesani was safe. So were many others that first responders helped escape, including a few pets.

As the smoke cleared, the chief said it became clear that the building would have to be at least partially demolished. Much of the fire damage was centered on the apartments, but the bottom-floor bar, Kilcoyne’s, also had smoke and water damage.

The American Red Cross was assisting 16 or 17 of the residents who can no longer stay in their apartments.