BAKER CITY — The Baker City Fire Department on Monday closed the Super 8 motel and Motel 6 in Baker City after inspectors found the fire alarm systems had been intentionally disabled at both motels, and that the sprinkler system was partially dismantled at the Super 8.

“These system disablements pose a significant life safety risk to occupants of the motels, particularly guests that sleep in these facilities,” Baker City Fire Chief John Clark said.

Clark told the Baker City Herald that both motels, which are owned by the same group and which between them have 112 rooms, will remain closed until the owners have corrected all the violations of the Oregon State Fire Code.

Clark said the owners brought in a contractor from Meridian, Idaho, to look at both motels Tuesday, but that corrective work had not started.

On Tuesday afternoon Christina Scott, public relations manager for the motels, sent the Herald a statement from the owners.

“We at the Super 8 and Motel 6 want to express our concern for the Baker community and the guests we serve. We want to thank the fire chief and city officials for informing us of the possible danger our hotels faced. We keep safety as priority one at all of our properties and we are doing everything in our power to remedy this situation as quickly and efficiently as humanely possible,” said in the statement.

“We want to assure our fellow Baker tourism businesses, we will not allow this to affect upcoming events and meetings. We have been striving to be beneficial to all of our tourism family. We want to thank the community for your support and understanding during this time! We will be back in full operation and serving the community in no time.”

Clark said he can’t estimate how long it might take to fix the violations, although he believes the problems at the Motel 6 (formerly the Always Welcome Inn, at 175 Campbell St.) would be simpler to rectify.

“I don’t see the Super 8 as being a quick fix,” Clark said in a Tuesday interview.

The issues at the Super 8, a 72-room motel at 250 Campbell St., are more complicated because that motel, which was built in 1991, has a sprinkler system, Clark said.

Motel 6, which has 40 rooms and was built in 1997, was not required to have a sprinkler system in part because all its rooms have exits to the outside, Clark said.

Clark said he has given the owners a list of work they need to do before the motels could reopen.

“They have a clear path on what they have do to,” he said.

Clark said he will be available at any time to inspect any work done at the motels.

“We’re not going to hold them up,” Clark said.

The Super 8 has both a wet and dry fire suppression system, Clark said.

Somebody removed parts from the systems, including piping that allows firefighters to connect to the sprinkler system and keep water flowing through it during a fire, he said.