A Kissimmee extended-stay motel that caught fire days before Christmas, displacing 250 people, is expected to reopen sometime this week.

About half of Unno Boutique Hotel on U.S. 192 was lost to damage from the fire, which was ruled arson. But management hopes to get the other half up and running.

Unno is where Dawn Richerson used to call home. She said words cannot describe what she felt when she found out the building was intentionally set on fire two days before Christmas.

The blaze left hundreds homeless, including her. Now, about two months later, Unno is one step closer to opening again. Inspectors were out checking the property Monday. Management said it still has a couple of safety inspections to pass before reopening.

Osceola County said everything has to be up to code before people can move back in, and the state also has to issue a license to the hotel.

Richerson said she would move back to the hotel.

"I would consider coming back here. They were my family. They still are my family," she said. Richerson said management had gone above and beyond to help her and many of the other families who were left without a place to stay.

"I got really close to these people, and the love that I feel for them is immense,” Richerson said. “They do go out of their way for people."

Officials are still looking for a person of interest caught on camera, Kevin Stewart, who they said may have information on how the fire started.

Richerson is hoping that between the hotel's security cameras and law enforcement, they will get some answers.

"I hope that whoever knows who he is will come forward, or anybody around him who knows who he is, and take that opportunity to make a wrong, right," she said.

A spokesperson with the Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations said the agency has received numerous tips and leads and that they are all being heavily vetted.


Repairs continue at the Unno Boutique Hotel in Kissimmee, where about 250 people were displaced after an arson fire a couple of months ago. Management said it has to pass a few more safety inspections before it can reopen. (Stephanie Bechara, staff)