these are from our nbc affiliate there kprc. kprc is also reporting the fire is located in the sports bar portion of that hotel. we've seen several people, including firefighters, actually being put onto stretchers as they fight these flames. again, this is some breaking news just south of houston, flying high above a fire at a hotel. smoke blowing across southwest -- southwest texas right now, we're told. that is also having an effect on traffic. you can see the traffic slowing down at the bottom left-hand portion of your screen there. officials at this point say that the fire started sometime around noon at the southwest end -- southwest inn. that's the hotel. in the 6800 block of southwest freeway. it's near hornwood. again, kprc, our affiliate there, saying that this is a four-alarm fire. right now, you can actually see some stretchers in the highway there -- stretchers in the middle of the highway. tough to make out if we can actually see folks on those stretchers. again, before we went to these pictures, we did see a numbe

this is kprc.smoke that is coming from that facility there, it is a four alarm fire. a reporter on the ground saying that this fire might have started in the sports bar. you can see as they zoom in there, just dramatic flames, really engulfing that building. there are fire crews that are on the scene. you can see they have blocked off the street as well. it is close to the highway. but lots of personnel that are there, you see the emergency crews as well as many of the fire trucks that are parked along the side. we have seen firefighters that are on site, very close to the flames, with hoses trying to get that out as quickly as possible. we don't know whether or not there is anyone inside of the hotel at this moment. but certainly we see some people on gurneys there that are near the ambulance. we're going to have more details. we'll bring that to you as soon as we can. >>> it is almost like a going out of business sale in detroit, really. potentially on the table, van goghs, rodan and rembrandts.

this is -- these are live pictures from our affiliate kprc out of houston, texas.sive plumes of smoke. if you know this area, this is the southwest inn on the southwest freeway. multiple stations responding. you can see ems there on the ground as well. we know it is a four alarm fire. meaning trucks from four different stations are responding that is how massive this thing is. many, many people fighting this thing. we're making phone calls, trying to figure out -- obviously it is way too early to figure out how the fire started but we'll keep a close eye on this and bring you any late developments as soon as we get them. >>> but first, this. want to begin this hour with a cnn exclusive. the grief-stricken family of nicole mansfield, if you don't know the name, take a look. because this is nicole mansfield, this is her in happier times with her daughter, from whom we'll hear in a moment. and this is nicole mansfield as well. her american driver's license has shown on syrian tv. that's right. syrian state tv in an exclusive interview, nicole mansfield's grieving fath

this is a story we first heard about through our houston affiliate kprc.lives, that newborn baby and her mom. >> reporter: for this family, every day is a gift after 76 days in e hospital, 3-month-old elena finally home after a touch and go delivery into this world. they call elena's birth a miracle, mother erica is an english teacher. she collapsed in a co-worker's classroom when she was nine months pregnant. >> i told her, i feel very faint. and i put my head down and essentially just passed out. >> erica's husband is a teacher at the same school and was only two classrooms away when his pregnant wife fainted. >> i opened the door and walked in and erica was lying on the floor. >> erica says an undetected heart defect caused her heart to stop. >> i had what's known as athlete's heart. nine out of ten times people die from the initial collapse. >> they used cpr and a defibrillator to keep erica and her baby alive until a paramedic arri arrived. >> it was literally a ticking time bomb and happened when i was 36 weeks. >> erica was rushed to the hospital an

this is a story we first heard about through the houston affiliate kprc.wo lives, that newborn baby and her mom. every day is a gift after 76 days in the hospital, three month old alaina finally old after a touch and go delivery into this world. >> a normal baby. >> they call her birth a miracle. mother erika is an english teacher at elkins high school. she collapsed in a classroom when she was nine months pregnant. >> i told her i feel faint, and i put my head down and i essentially just passed out. >> erika's husband is a teacher at the same school and was only two classrooms away when his pregnant wife. >> i opened the door and erika was lying on the floor. >> she says an undetected heart defect caused her heart to stop. >> i had hydro tropic cardiomyopathy. 9 times out of 10 most people die from the first initial collapse. >>. >> co-workers used cpr and a defibrillator until paramedics arrived. >> it was like a ticking time bomb and just happened when i was 36 weeks. >> erika was rushed to the hospital and within minutes doctors delivered her baby by a