FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance displaced disaster survivors have been displaced after a fire broke out at the Imperial Swan Hotel & Suites in Lakeland.
Lakeland Fire Department responded Friday morning around 5:40 a.m. to a structure fire at the Imperial Swan Hotel & Suites at 4141 S. Florida Avenue.
For this mother of five, including a 9-month-old baby, a fire at this Lakeland hotel is just the latest in a series of hardships.
“It was really hard because we went from the first storm to fixing those damages, which weren’t there were minor,’ resident Mariah Brooks said. But they were still costly to going into the second home, being destroyed back-to-back and losing everything.”
Crews arrived and found an evacuation already in progress. The alarms were going off throughout the building and water flow from the sprinkler system was activated in the second-floor hotel room where the fire originated, Lakeland Fire Department said.
The Imperial Swan Hotel & Suites has had several fire code violations. As a safety precaution, guests can reenter the building to gather their belongings, but will not remain at the hotel.
According to the Lakeland Fire Department, FEMA TSA displaced disaster survivors were residing at the hotel and will need to be located.
TSA survivors will be able to find other TSA-participating hotels by going online or can call at 1-800-621-3362.
According to FEMA, it is the responsibility of the survivor to secure accommodations that meet their needs.
“The second hurricane, the second caused complete damage to our home, which led us to need FEMA assistance to get to the lodge. And unfortunately, this was the only time we thought we were fortunate, was the only place that was accepting FEMA in this area. So, we took what we could get,” Brooks said.
There hasn’t been an official occupant count of the hotel.
A dog was found dead in the room where the fire originated, but no other occupants were in the room when firefighters arrived, Lakeland Fire Department said.