4-alarm fire at east Charlotte hotel likely caused by ‘carelessly discarded’ smoking materials

A four-alarm fire Saturday night at a hotel near Bojangles Coliseum was likely caused by “carelessly discarded” smoking materials — although an electrical failure “was not completely eliminated,” the Charlotte Fire Department said in a post on X Sunday morning.

A fire that erupted around 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Golden Green Hotel at 3024 E. Independence Blvd. was controlled in 80 minutes and contained to one room, the fire department said. Two people were rescued, and six people were treated by Medic; one was transported for minor injuries.

The estimated property and content loss is about $250,000, the fire department said.

The Red Cross is assisting the Charlotte Fire Department and property management to make living arrangements at two area hotels for displaced residents.

This story was originally published December 31, 2023 at 10:24 AM.

Jodie Valade

The Charlotte Observer

Jodie Valade is a former Planning and Enterprise Editor at The Charlotte Observer. She has also worked at WFAE as a digital editor, and freelanced for publications such as The Athletic, The Washington Post and The New York Times. She was a longtime, award-winning sports features and enterprise reporter at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. She also worked at The Dallas Morning News covering the Dallas Mavericks — where she became Mark Cuban’s lifelong email pen pal — and at The Kansas City Star. Support my work with a digital subscription