KENTUCKY MOTEL FIRE KILLS 3; GUESTS WHISKED TO SAFETY.

Byline: Ann Gibson Associated Press 

Guests took refuge in bathtubs and frantically dialed 911 from their rooms as flames engulfed a Howard Johnson motel early Saturday, killing three people.

Firefighters raced from room to room of the motel in Bowling Green in southern Kentucky, carrying guests out on their shoulders and going back for more.

"Because the fire was so extensive when we got here, our initial efforts were toward the people that were inside the building," said Oscar Cherry, assistant fire chief in Bowling Green. "When we got here, we had one come out through the plate glass window himself."

The fire was first reported at 1:17 a.m. in the two-story motel, officials said. The heat and smoke trapped as many as 50 of the 75 guests in their rooms, which faced a central lobby and swimming pool area. Officials said the fire apparently started somewhere in the middle of the motel.

"The facility was engulfed in flames when the Fire Department arrived," police Sgt. Bill Key said. The hotel was gutted by the fire.

"We had numerous people calling fire dispatch from their rooms, and dispatch would relay that information to us as to what rooms we had several people in," Cherry said at a news conference. "We just basically had to hit every room anyway."

"It could have been worse if it hadn't been for the men going in the rooms and bringing people out," Bowling Green Fire Capt. Walter Jordan said. "It saved many lives because of their efforts."

Authorities didn't expect to find any more bodies, even though they hadn't yet cleared one area of debris. "We don't think there's going to be anybody there," said fire Capt. Paul Stephens.

The cause of the two-alarm fire was still under investigation.