The Northern News reports that Bill Zezza was a guest at Superior & Sage Hotel in SUPERIOR, Wisconsin. He smelled smoke about 11pm and went out into the hall on the first floor. A fire was already raging! He pulled the fire alarm and could have easily escaped at that point but made the decision to try and fight it.
"So, right away I said grab some fire extinguishers, so I grabbed it, pulled the pin, started spraying and started using the door as a shield. It was so hot, and then the fire extinguisher quit, so I got another one. At first, it wasn’t that bad, I mean I almost had it put out with a couple fire extinguishers, if I could’ve had more fire extinguishers, I could’ve had it put out. But that fire wanted to rage”.
Multiple area fire stations responded to battle the blaze. There's some thought that since the hotel was under renovation at the time that was a contributing factor, but the investigation is still on going.
As for the actions of Bill, multiple fire officials told the local media that he saved the lives of probably most people on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor as this fire was spreading so rapidly most would not have made it out.