Friday, construction crews were putting the roof on what would have been a 4-story Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, but all that's left now is burnt steel and rubble. Flames lit up the sky as the frame and roof of the hotel burnt to the ground around 1 A.M. Saturday morning. Bentonville Fire Chief Dan White says the fire moved extremely fast and consumed almost everything in it's path. The rubble continues to smolder long after firefighters put out the flames. Rick Wilkins owns Dogwatch-- a doggy daycare right next to the hotel construction site. Wilkins got a call from his animal caretaker around 1:15 A.M., and rushed across town to make sure his dogs were okay. "When I arrived the chief had already broke through and was checking on all the animals and everybody was fine, no stress," he says. No one was injured in the fire, but firefighters did have to evacuate Wilkins' caretaker, who lives behind Dogwatch in a small cottage. "She has a vinyl siding roof and it's all melted, the front of her truck is melted. The glass on the south side of the building has cracked and broke and you can see the discoloration in the metal siding there, so it was hot." Chief White says the rubble is still too hot for firefighters to begin investigating the cause of the fire.
