Historic hotel burns, 17 lose their homes

Seventeen people are homeless this morning after a fire destroyed the historic Peck’s Hotel on Main Street in Franklin Monday night.
The hotel, once a stopover for tourists and travelers along U.S. 90 before it was rerouted, is now a housing rental property owned by Eldon Shinn.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Hildreth said he believes the fire originated on a stove in one of the apartments.
Hildreth said the department was notified of the blaze at 5:59 p.m. after a police unit was flagged down in front of the complex at 905 Main St.
He said the Franklin department was on scene within three minutes and with the aid of some 75 firefighters from seven departments the fire was brought under control in about two hours. Some firefighters were still on scene at 9 a.m. this morning. There were no injuries.
“When we arrived, there were flames shooting up on both ends of the second floor,” he said. When it was obvious that the main front building that contained five apartments would be a loss, Hildreth said efforts were then concentrated on protecting surrounding structures that included a rear building with four apartments.
“The plastic blinds were melted in those apartments, but there was no actual fire damage to the structure,” he said.
He estimated structural damages at $350,000 and contents at $100,000.
Mutual aid was provided to the FFD by personnel from Baldwin, Centerville, Chitimacha, District 11, Patterson and Bayou Vista.
Investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Both housing units were home to seven families that are now in need of housing, clothing and all other belongings.
Hildreth said donations of clothing from infant to adult sizes as well as household goods can be dropped off at the First Street Fire Station, the Emergency Aid Center on Commercial Street or in donation boxes at Capital One Bank on Northwest Boulevard.
At least two of the families were still in need this morning of a place to stay, Hildreth said. He added that repeated calls to the Red Cross, which will usually be able to provide temporary housing, have gone unanswered.