Dozens of families kicked out of motel after county orders

    GREENVILLE, South Carolina (WYFF) -- A Motel 6 in Greenville County was told it had to stop operations Tuesday, catching many families by surprise and leaving them without a place to stay.

Christine Griggs and her two children are now facing a list of questions. They were some of the dozens of families told to leave while living at the Motel 6 on Wade Hampton Boulevard.

"Panic because I'm trying to figure out where am I going to put my kids? Where am I going to house my animals?" she says, "A lot of people don't have cars here. A lot of people. There's people that are elderly. There's people that are handicapped. They don't have anywhere to go."

Residents say they were approached by staff, code enforcement, and Greenville County employees, and were told the motel would no longer be allowed to operate.

"This is what we come home to, and it's upsetting. Thank God that we have another place to go. But still, there's people here. They don't have nowhere to go," says Kimberly Roseman, a resident.

Greenville County says the order comes after a third code violation visit. Officials tell our newsroom starting in January, the county recorded code violations related to the motel's fire alarm and sprinkler system.

Officials also say the county offered plans of action that the owners failed to execute during a 30-day period.

"I'm not really surprised. I'm just very disappointed that something hasn't been done. And the fact that they've known about it for 30 days or longer. And now they tell us, like right away, what are we supposed to do?" Griggs asks.

Some residents say they were offered a refund, while others were told to wait.

"We were going to try to go to another motel. Hopefully, they still have a room available. If not, what's good? We're sleeping out on the street like with a bunch of all these other people," said resident Guy Still.