Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical personnel fight a fire at Westminster Inn and Suites, 2525 W. Sixth St. Residents at the motel were evacuated and the fire was soon under control. The majority of the damage appeared to have been to the motel office.

Standing outside in a stiff, cold wind is difficult for anyone, firefighters included.

“Just like all of us, we try to prepare ourselves for the cold,” said Division Chief Shaun Coffey of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical. “We just try to function well.”

So when fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Westminster Inn and Suites, 2525 W. Sixth St., Coffey and 24 other firefighters and emergency responders battled both a blaze and the cold for more than an hour.

The two-alarm fire began in the attic area of the manager’s office, likely because of a wiring problem near a lighted “motel” sign, a manager said.

Flames burned through the east side of the roof and into the office area, but firefighters had the fire under control by about 7 p.m.

The official cause remains under investigation.

Coffey said the cold wasn’t as much of a factor as it could have been. It wasn’t a defensive battle, when firefighters have to beat back flames, so most responders stayed fairly dry.

The road and roof of the building, on the other hand, did not.

A portion of Sixth Street was closed for more than an hour, and city crews were called out to resalt the roadway to cut through the newly formed ice, Coffey said.

No one was injured in the fire.