Man found dead in Tulsa’s Brookshire Motel after third fire in 15 months there

A man was found dead after a fire — the third in 15 months — broke out Tuesday in the north wing of the closed Brookshire Motel along Route 66 in Tulsa.

The fire was reported about 6 a.m., Tulsa Fire Department spokesman Andy Little said. According to the Tulsa World:

“They did an exterior attack to knock the fire down and entered,” Little said. “Unfortunately, we did find one adult male in the building.”
A large fire was burning in one of the larger structures at the motel campus. The body was found several rooms away from where the fire burned.
It was not clear Tuesday morning whether the unidentified man had died as a result of the fire or prior to it. State medical examiners will determine the manner and cause of death for the unidentified man.
It appeared the man was experiencing homelessness and may have sought refuge in the motel. The fire burned out much of the building and consumed a large section of the roof. Fire marshals are investigating the cause and origin of the fire.

KRMG radio in Tulsa reported other fires occurred at the Route 66 property in February 2019 and March 2020.

The property was declared a nuisance more than two years ago. Code violations went unaddressed, and the city has incurred more than $10,000 in abatement charges. The Tulsa Route 66 Commission in 2018 tried to find a buyer to save the motel and implored the city to hold off on condemnation as long as possible.

According to Tulsa County property records, the motel’s owner is David Silver of Plano, Texas.

Little is known about the Brookshire’s history, although its architecture indicates it likely was constructed in the 1940s.

Unfortunately, the chance of this motel being purchased and eventually restored looks very, very slim — especially after it being damaged by three fires.

(Screen-capture image from Tulsa World video of the scene of a third fire at the Brookshire Motel)