Senator says Comfort Inn fire was arson

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The Greenville County Sheriff's Office, however, said no determination has been made and any speculation is premature.

Thomas, a Republican from Fountain Inn, called for the state to strengthen fire safety rules with measures such as posting warnings in hotels that do not have sprinklers.

Authorities said the Comfort Inn on Congaree Road did not have sprinklers when a fire started on the third floor hallway, killing six and injuring 12, including some who jumped from their windows to escape the thick, black smoke.

Some officials said the fact that the hotel wasn't required to have sprinklers raised the death count.

The Greenville County Sheriffs Office has refused to say whether they suspect the fire was intentionally set.

"Where (Thomas) is getting that information, I have no idea," said Sgt. Shea Smith of the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Steve Loftis said they're waiting on test results of samples taken from the hotel before making a comment about the cause. They have not ruled out arson.

"We don't want to release anything prematurely," Loftis said.

Thomas told The Greenville News that his information came from someone close to the investigation.

On the Senate floor, Thomas said he was told gasoline was involved in the fire. He later backed off the statement because he said the Sheriff's Office told him they wouldn't confirm that gasoline was used.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating the fire along with the State Law Enforcement Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. SLED Chief Robert Stewart declined to comment Thursday but released a statement saying they are assisting the Sheriff's Office.

"Any official statement will come from them," said Kathryn Richardson, a SLED spokeswoman.

Smith said they can't say whether it's a homicide or accidental. "Until the test results come back it would be premature to comment on the status of the case," he said.

Thomas took to an unusually silent Senate floor in Columbia Thursday morning calling for members to do something about fire laws.

"We have to seriously start investigating this ourselves," he said.

Thomas is working on legislation that would encourage retrofitting of hotels and other public buildings to get sprinklers by offering tax credits.

He also talked about working with insurance companies to see if they would offer better rates for places with sprinklers.

"This can happen at any other hotel by a maniac who is a copycat," Thomas told The Greenville News after his speech. "This makes us have to look."

Thomas also wants hotels and motels that don't have sprinklers be required to post a warning at the front door, and put up better procedures for getting out in case of a fire.

"The problem is these people did not know what to do," Thomas said. "The alarms go off and now they walk into a hall darkened by smoke."

He also wants to talk to other states to see how they regulate hotels.

"These are just concepts," he said. "We're working on it."