About 250 people were displaced after a Kissimmee hotel caught fire Friday morning, just two days before Christmas, according to Osceola County Fire Rescue.

No one was hurt.

More than 50 firefighters helped put out the blaze, which took about 8 hours to extinguish, Deputy Chief Daniel McAvoy said Friday afternoon.

On Friday afternoon, officials were letting people re-enter their hotel rooms to get medicines.

Firefighters were called to the 130-room Unno Boutique Hotel on U.S. 192 (Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway) at about 4:42 a.m.

McAvoy said the owners of the hotel were conducting construction and renovating several rooms toward the back of the hotel. They think that's where the blaze may have begun. The fire was upgraded to a three-alarm fire.


Fire erupted at the Unno Boutique Hotel on U.S. 192 (Sky 13)

Video from Sky 13 showed smoke billowing from the roof on one side of the building. A portion of the roof collapsed.

People staying at the hotel were transported by bus to a center in Osceola County. Nearly 200 displaced residents are receiving assistance from the Osceola Council on Aging. McAvoy said Kissimmee Middle School will serve as an emergency shelter for about a week. Lynx buses will take hotel residents to the shelter, which is about 6 miles away.

One of the hotel residents, Yonaka Smith, said her family lost everything in the fire, including identification, presents, clothes and school supplies. Despite her circumstance, she said overall, she was grateful.

"What if that was us in there and not our items alone? I'm grateful that nobody died today," Smith said.

Officials were working on a plan for a visit from Santa Claus in coming days at the shelter at Kissimmee Middle.

“The outpouring from the community to this morning’s fire has been amazing,” said Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, whose district includes the hotel site. “Everyone is working diligently to assess the needs of the residents who lost their homes and to make sure that they are taken care of during this holiday season.”

There were about 20 pets staying at the hotel and Animal Service staff is helping their owners.

U.S. 192 was shut down in both directions while crews battle the fire, officials said.

Fire officials have not determined what caused the fire. The state Fire Marshal will investigate.

If you'd like to donate money to help the victims this Christmas, Osceola County has set up a PayPal account. Go to Osceola County's home page at Osceola.org and click on the red link at the top. Donations of items and goods are being accepted with a dropoff location at the Osceola Council on Aging, 700 Generation Point in Kissimmee.