CHANNELVIEW, Texas – Firefighters have responded to the scene where a vacant hotel has caught on fire in the Channelview-area.
The fire is located off I-10 near Sheldon Road.
Houston Transtar cameras show the hotel with visible flames.
The fire is at the vacant Fairfield Inn and Suites at the location. Authorities say it has been routinely used by homeless individuals for shelter.
Brandi Dumas, Public Information Officer for the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, says this is the seventh major fire at the hotel in just a little over a year. She says authorities have been called to the property over a dozen times for other incidents as well.
Here is a list of the dates of the past fires:
3/29/25 – electrical
4/22/25 – undetermined
5/10/25 – arson, torch type lighter used to set debris on fire inside vacant hotel
5/24/25 – undetermined
11/23/25 – arson, trash fires set outside building caught building on fire
11/24/25 – fire from previous day rekindled
No one is supposed to be in the building, but Dumas says they are aware of people going in and out of the hotel.
Dumas said part of the hotel had collapsed in the last fire that happened. This time, there was an even bigger collapse of the building, but the east and west walls are still standing, which is creating a hazard on its own.
Firefighters have not been able to get inside the building to search because of the safety issues. Instead, they have been using drones and thermal imaging to see if anyone is inside.
“We do not want to compromise the safety of anyone else by sending them into an unsafe environment,” Dumas said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is providing traffic control as the investigation continues. Lt. Uzziah Hardin says they have noticed a lot of pedestrians passing through the area and they want to keep people out of the area until it is safe. Once the preliminary investigation is complete, they will open traffic back up
Anyone with information on the fire is urged to contact the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office or the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
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