By Teresa Moss
Las Vegas Sun
LAS VEGAS — A fire late Saturday afternoon on the roof of the long-delayed Fontainebleau on the Strip was extinguished before spreading to the rest of the building, according to Clark County Fire Department officials.
Deputy Fire Chief Billy Samuels said the fire involved construction materials located on the roof of the resort, set to open later this year.
The fire department was able to utilize elevators at the building and it was out 33 minutes after receiving the call, he said. Water was on the fire within about 25 minutes, Samuels said.
The cause of the fire remained unknown, Samuels said. He added that the investigative team had arrived at the site.
The 67-story hotel that has taken years to open due to financial issues is scheduled to open at the end of this year.
Construction on the hotel started in 2007 just as the Great Recession took hold in the country and around the world. Banks pulled out of the project and there were multiple changes in ownership.
The project was suspended again in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bill Perry, a Las Vegas resident, noticed the commotion after playing some slot machines at Westgate to beat the triple-digit heat.
“As we were walking out of Westgate, we could hear the sirens and see the fire trucks, one after another, nonstop. As we drove out of the parking garage, we suddenly saw the smoke billowing off the rooftop of Fontainebleau,” he said
Perry said he drove around the block and saw smoke from different angles.
“It was quite eerie,” he said. “Especially not knowing the extent of the fire”
Any smoke or flames on a high-rise is automatically a two-alarm fire, Samuels said. He said 91 fire personnel from Clark County and Las Vegas Fire responded.
He said it was easier to manage the fire since the hotel has yet to open and there wasn’t an evacuation of occupants.
No one was injured during the fire event, Samuels said. He said the crew is trained and acclimated to work in hot weather.
He said cooling stations are set up for firefighters to rotate through. In high-rise situations, often the station is set up a couple of floors below the fire event, he said.
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