Smoke and flames rise after a fire broke out at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. The fire halted gambling at the casino as it spread from the center of the building across the roof. (AP Photo/Robin Tait)
Flames and smoke rise from the Monte Carlo hotel-casino in Las Vegas after a fire broke out on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. The fire broke out on the roof and top floors of the 3,000-room hotel-casino, forcing the evacuation of guests and staff and quickly engulfing parts of the building’s facade and roof. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Flames and smoke rise from the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip after a fire broke out Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Black smoke billows up from the Las Vegas Strip as a three-alarm fire rages at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Firefighters responded to the blaze that burned off much of the exterior decorative facade on the south side of the upper stories of the Monte Carlo. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Firefighters douse hotspots on the upper level floors of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Firefighters douse hotspots on the upper level floors of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Smoke and fire rise from the facade of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, in Las Vegas. Management at MGM Mirage, which owns the Monte Carlo, were forced to relocate thousands of guests to other properties on the Las Vegas Strip. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Firefighters douse hotspots on the upper level floors of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Las Vegas Valley firefighters responded to a three-alarm blaze that burned off much of the exterior decorative facade on the south side of the upper stories of the Monte Carlo. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Flames burning along the upper exterior of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino are framed by the Manhattan Express roller coaster of the New York-New York on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, in Las Vegas. The three-alarm fire, which was quickly brought under control by firefighters, caused MGM Mirage to relocate thousands of guests to other properties on the Las Vegas Strip. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Firefighters douse hotspots on the upper floors of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The fire-scarred facade of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino is shown Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, in Las Vegas. The facade of the 32-story hotel-casino caught fire earlier in the day, but the fire was quickly brought under control by Las Vegas Valley firefighters who battled the blaze from broken out windows in several of the suites. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Black smoke billows up from the Las Vegas Strip as a three-alarm fire burns at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Workers from Belfor Property Restoration load pieces of carpet emoved from the Monte Carlo hotel-casino into a truck on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, in Las Vegas. A fire at the 32-story hotel-casino the previous day resulted in some damage to upper suites. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Workers repair the exterior of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino on Friday, Feb, 8, 2008, in preparation for its reopening following a fire. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Fifteen years ago, a three-alarm fire burned the top floors of the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino (now Park MGM), forcing thousands of guests to evacuate and sending at least 13 people to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
The hotel-casino, which first opened in 1996, caught fire before 11 a.m. on Jan. 24, 2008. Approximately 120 firefighters worked to fight the blaze, which caused $100 million in damages.
The Las Vegas Strip resort closed for three weeks after the fire. When it reopened, about 500 of the hotel’s 3,000 rooms were still closed because of smoke and water damage.
Seven months after the fire, a Clark County report revealed that an improper type of resin on a foam band near the 32nd floor of the building and on sections of a rooftop wall helped spread the fire faster.
The fire itself was blamed on flying molten metal and a lack of safety precautions by construction workers, according to Clark County fire inspectors. Welders on top of the resort were using a hand-held torch to cut corrugated steel for a walkway on the roof when slag — another name for hot metal — caused a fast-moving fire.
However, Union Erectors, the company blamed for the fire, disputed this finding and said its workers followed proper safety procedures.
