An Okanogan hotel has been forced to shut down after sustaining damage during a Tuesday morning fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the Quality Inn & Suites in the single-digit block of Apple Way Road at around 9:30 a.m. where they discovered smoke and flames rising from the top floor and roof of the building. Maurice Goodall with Okanogan County Emergency Management (OCEM) says the blaze actually sparked outside the hotel. "The fire started on the outside of the hotel's northwest corner in a small shed. Some of the residents at the hotel tried to put it out with small fire extinguishers, but by the time they got into the shed, it was already pretty well going. It creeped up the side of the hotel and got into the attic space and under the eaves of the hotel." Crews had the fire under control within an hour and everyone inside the hotel managed to get out safely. Goodall says many of those staying at the hotel were long-term tenants.