POLICE said last night that they were not treating the fire that ripped through a hotel as suspicious.

The King’s Hotel, in Darlington, was severely damaged and more than 100 people had to be evacuated from the building after fire broke out in the early hours of Friday.

Police and fire scene investigators carried out a preliminary investigation of the ravaged town centre building yesterday.

Although the inquiry is at an early stage, investigators have found nothing to suggest the blaze was started deliberately.

Chief Inspector Paul Unsworth, of Darlington police, said: “There is no evidence at the moment to suggest suspicious circumstances.

“The hotel is a massive scene. An investigation has to be planned and managed very carefully. Fire scene investigators assisted by police experts will begin their work on Monday.

“When that begins, we will be able to build up a bigger picture of how the fire started.”

Tourists from Italy, Canada and Singapore were woken when alarms sounded at 12.40am on Friday.

The fire is thought to have started on the fourth-floor of the 115-year-old building, formerly known as the King’s Head Hotel, before it quickly spread to the roof.

Firefighters from County Durham, Darlington and North Yorkshire tackled the blaze for more than five hours before the flames were brought under control.

Fears that the floors would collapse forced emergency services to fight the fire from above. An aerial platform was used to help break through the blazing roof.

Firefighters pumped thousands of gallons from the River Skerne to supplement the two fire hydrants supplying ten appliances and two turntable ladders.

The blaze is one of the biggest in the history of the town.

Hotel staff and fire crews were praised by the rescued guests for their bravery.

Ben Choi, a mechanical engineering student from Toronto, Canada, was in Darlington with his family on the first night of a bus tour of the UK.

“One of the workers at the hotel was a real hero,” said Mr Choi, 26.

“He was running around banging on all the doors to make sure people knew it was not a false alarm.

“It was because of his efforts, and the efforts of the rest of the staff, that they were able to get everyone out so quickly.”

Guests were moved to the Dolphin Centre sports complex.

Another hotel, the Blackwell Grange, agreed to take the weary residents. An elderly couple from Canada were the last to be saved from the inferno.

Maureen and Gordon Waito were trapped on the third floor because Mr Waito is paralysed down one side and could not walk down the stairs with the rest of the guests.

Staff were able to get the couple out of the building using the lift shortly before it was switched off.

Large areas of the town centre were cordoned off yesterday as stunned shoppers watched firefighters dampen down the site from aerial ladder platforms.

The front of the landmark building was largely intact, but all that remained of the roof was a frame of charred slates.

Steve Wharton, Darlington station manager for Durham and Darlington Fire Brigade, said: “When we got there, we found the top floors and roof were well alight.

“We immediately asked for extra help and, at the height of the fire, we had 12 crews and two aerial ladders.

“The hotel has a really good evacuation policy and managed to evacuate all the residents fairly quickly.

“The whole roof void has been destroyed. The top floors underneath have been destroyed by the fire and the hotel as a whole has been damaged by the water running down from the firefighting operation.

“It has been quite severely damaged but, having said that, firefighters have managed to save 75 per cent of the building.”

Mr Wharton added: “It was a major fire and with people sleeping in the property it could have been far, far worse.

“The fire was very intensive.

We could only fight the flames from the inside for the first hour then it became too hot and we had to withdraw.”

Hotel manager Simon Gorman said he believed the hotel would re-open rather than be demolished.

Mr Gorman, who watched the fire brigade operation with the crowds, said: “I think it is going to be quite a lot of work. It is a grade two-listed building, which brings its own challenges. Once we have a chance to assess the full extent of damage, we will be able to take the decisions.”