Fire Breaks Out at Vegas' Monte Carlo

[JFN1]

Source: AP

A three-alarm fire broke out Friday on the roof of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino, sending plumes of black smoke above the Las Vegas Strip.

City and county firefighters responded to the fire, which was reported at about 11 a.m., said fire spokesman Tim Szymanski.

MGM Mirage, the casino's owner, had no immediate information about the blaze.

Read more: http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20080125/D8UD3GO81.html

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I'm looking at the fire on MSNBC right now - its pretty big!

[DS1]

1. Hotel market bubble insurance fraud

[Deep13]

4. Urban renewal by arson? Wouldn't be the first time. nt

[TankLV]

23. "hey Vinnie - we need to unload some property in Vegas - take a match..."

not as easy as it was in the "old" days!!!

[Deep13]

2. Too bad. They were renovating when I was there in 2006. nt

[itsrobert]

3. LIVE COVERAGE LINK--HUGE FIRE

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7774764

[Deep13]

5. Not a great photo, but it looks like...

...it might be coming from the air conditioner.

[DesertRat]

6. Four employees are stuck on the roof

A large fire is burning on the south tower roof at the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino. The fire is on the 32nd floor and higher. Thick, black smoke is pouring from the top of the building. Four Monte Carlo employees are stuck on the roof.

People are being evacuated from the Monte Carlo property as well as the Bellagio and New York-New York.

No cause for the fire is known at this time and no known injuries. Fire crews are on on their third alarm. Las Vegas Boulevard is shut down between Tropicana Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

http://www.lvrj.com/breaking_news/14369312.html

[tekisui]

7. Big fire. It looks like the top four floors are burning.

[DesertRat]

8. MSNBC: Firefighters are climbing the 32 stories right now

The fire has spread downward at least 4 floors.

[onehandle]

9. Terra! Terra! Terra! Everyone please panic and vote Republican! Terra! Terra! Terra! nt

[GOPNotForMe]

10. Looks BAD.

Hope everyone was evacuated and the firefighters are able to stay safe.

[MsKandice01]

11. I just love Vegas...

So watching this is really heartbreaking to me.

Sometimes the cynicism around this place is really irritating.

[truthisfreedom]

12. I agree. It's out of control. I'm feeling less and less a part of this place... it's filled with

disruptors who use non-sequitor to derail threads.

[TBUSA]

13. Just a scientific point of note

I remember a Fire inspector veteran posting on DU that when a fire is going out the smoke turns to white. He was referring to the twin towers fire and how in fact the video show the black smoke ending and then seeing the white smoke, which indicated to him that the fire was almost out. Sometime later the buildings collapsed.
See any white smoke (water vapor) yet at the Monte Carlo?

[Xithras]

19. Smoke color can't tell you that.

I don't know who posted it, but they were full of it. The color and amount of smoke cannot tell you whether a fire is little or big, or whether it's going out. It can only tell you WHAT is burning. Grey smoke indicates cellulostic material (i.e. wood, paper, walls, etc.). Black smoke indicates petroleum in some form, such as gasoline or jet fuel, but also plastics and lots of modern furniture. Brown indicates old, dried wood. If you see a nearby fire giving off smoke of some other odd color, RUN, because it's probably a nasty chemical burning. Some small fires give off a lot of smoke, and some large fires hardly give off any at all. It depends on the fuel, how dry the fuel is, the amount of oxygen getting to the fire, and even the weather conditions when its burning.

One important thing to remember is that almost ALL fires burn black, at least initially, nowadays. We use plastics and petroleum products in just about everything, and plastics nearly always release large volumes of black smoke. Since this is a newer building it's probably safe to assume that it has plastic based carpets, plastic pipes in the walls, plastic-based wallpapers, plastic impregnated vapor barriers in the exterior construction, plastic based furniture (foams and artificial fill material), etc. It probably even has latex paint on the walls (which is made with black smoke producing rubber). Like nearly all newer buildings, this thing is going to burn black.

[TankLV]

24. the BLACK smoke is from the Exterior Insulation & Finish System - EIFS - styrofoam insulation...

it depends on the "fuel"...

[Stand and Fight]

14. I can see the building from where I work downtown...

The fire seems to be under control now. No more smoke.

[DS1]

15. oh, craps

[Ellipsis]

17. LOL

That was so bad even the dog groaned.

[Ellipsis]

16. Welders on the roof.... Fire's pretty much out.

Just a guess... Looks like the facade is the kind with where they use a styrofoam treatment to establish the dimensionality (hence the black smoke).

No injuries reported.

[underpants]

18. Thank god it was on the roof- the MGM had a horrific fire in '80 killing 87

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Grand_Hotel_Las_Vegas_hotel_fire

[pinniped]

20. Even when the fire appeared well under control (CNN), MSNBC kept repeating....

footage that showed it at its peak. It appears MSNBC didn't want the fire to go away on their channel. Large flames on the exterior will draw more viewers than a fire that is almost out.

NBC has affiliates in LV, so there's no way they couldn't get live footage to broadcast.

--

I was in LV last week, and just this morning I was looking up rates for Monte Carlo rooms/suites.

[onyxred]

21. I hope there are no victims

Let\'s pray.

[enlightenment]

22. No victims.

If there's one thing that the Strip hotels learned after the MGM fire, it was how to cope with this sort of emergency. Everyone was evacuated in an organized and orderly fashion, not just at the Monte but also at two nearby casinos.

It wasn't nearly as exciting as the MSM wanted it to be.

[TankLV]

25. LV has some of the most - if not the most - stringent building codes in the WORLD...

that's a fact...

I have to deal with it every time we do another project (I'm an Architect in Vegas)...

The only thing that surprises me is how seemingly totally UNCONCERNED building officials are in some other places we do projects, as opposed to Vegas...

[enlightenment]

26. Absolutely!

My brother designs fire systems and is just now getting into the Vegas market from out of state (fingers crossed) - he's really impressed with the code.

It does seem irrational for other cities to go with the minimum standards, but I suppose it's human nature to believe that it just "won't happen" . . . I don't think that paranoia is the answer, but LV code, both for building and fire systems is pretty amazing and innovative. When it comes to safety, I don't think that a "penny saved is a penny eared" is worth the potential risk to life, property, and - ultimately - the bottom line of the companies who commission the structures.

[TankLV]

27. Well - it DOES boil down to the "bottom line" - and "selling" Vegas is the "goal".

If the "product" is not absolutely squeeky clean as far as perceived "safety" goes, then it will soon fail...

That's why everyone puts up with all the cameras - the perception that all is "fair" gambling-wise, and safe for all other reasons - persons, property, food, security...