Howard Johnson’s/Holiday Inn Fire, Bowling Green, Kentucky

On January 6, 1996 the owner and operator of a Howard Johnson’s franchise motel intentionally set it on fire as part of arson for profit scheme designed to collect a $5 million insurance claim. The motel had been originally built and remodeled as a Holiday Inn franchise with an interior atrium. While many escaped this horrible event, four people were killed and sixteen other were injured. The resulting lawsuit named approximately two-dozen defendants.