cindy john son and her husband were at the best western when the flames broke out. >> western in bed sleeping when the fire alarm went off. >> reporter: atf crews were on site collecting evidence. several businesses were burned out or suffered significant water and smoke damage including the fairly new little line restaurant. >> when we came hear, the fire was still going and we saw everything was closed off, so we just went home. happy it didn't catch fire. >> i grabbed my wedding rings and purse we put on the clothing we have on now. >> residents said they believe it started in the residential building next to the hotel. fire officials say the building owner has been asked to take down the fire escape at the front of the buildings to lessen the weight on the weakening structure. the depdy fire commissioner said it's no surprise given the four hours it took to extinguish the flames, that that's not stopping others from going into salvage things. >> he said the firemen don't want to be bellman, they have other responsibilities which we understand. >> that was jeanette reyes reporting