Small blaze forces Reno hotel evacuation
Friday, July 23, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.
RENO -- A small but smoky fire forced the partial evacuation of the Atlantis hotel-casino early this morning. Damage was minimal and nobody was seriously hurt.
Reno Fire Chief Chuck Lowden said the two-alarm fire broke out just before 2 a.m. in a planter filled with artificial greenery in an atrium area between two 18-story hotel towers.
The fire on the ninth floor was quickly put out by sprinklers, but thick smoke drifted up through the next three or four floors.
Lowden said some of the 600 rooms were evacuated while other guests were told to stay put. He did not know the exact number of people told to leave.
The chief said a few people complained of minor smoke inhalation, but nobody was taken to a hospital.
Lowden said damage from the smoke and fire were almost negligible, but the sprinklers left a lot of water that had to be cleaned up.
"Water can get into electrical circuits. We don't want somebody in an elevator getting stuck someplace," he said.
Guests wrapped in hotel blankets huddled in the hotel parking lot in the cool morning air, waiting for the all-clear so they could return to their rooms.
"I was sleeping and I heard the fire alarm. I figured it was nothing. Then I opened the door and saw light smoke," said Laura Deitsch of Las Vegas.
"I just yelled, 'Get out!' grabbed my purse and got out," she said.
There was only light smoke in the stairwells as she walked down from the 16th floor, but she said the stairs got crowded as she descended."
"I waited too long," said Rita Morrison of Walnut Creek, Calif. "It was pretty smoky on the stairs by the time I got there. I had my three kids and I was panicky. Definitely panicky"
The Atlantis plans a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for its new 27-story, 392-room tower at the resort 2 1/2 miles south of downtown Reno.
While it was unaffected by the fire and smoke, Lowden said the project may have helped keep today's problems minimal in the older towers.
"They have a brand new fire control system," he said. "It worked extremely well and indicated exactly where the problems were."
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Freddie Roach talks tough; Manny Pacquiao backs it up
- Live Main Event blog: Cada and Moon set to square off heads-up
- Commercial development in Las Vegas grinding to a halt, analyst says
- Ensign moves out of home on C Street
- County considers suing over travel Web site room taxes
- Cada and Moon emerge as Main Event’s final two
- Cities, county find buying valley homes isn’t easy
- Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton
- Temperature to hit 80 today in Las Vegas
- UNLV wins hoops scrimmage at Long Beach State
Blogs
The Kats Report
Buchanan was one of the city's truly flamboyant characters
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Reviewing "24/7 Pacquiao/Cotto," episode 3
The Kats Report
Life in the Limelight: Wayne Newton (4 Comments)
Politics: Ralston's Flash
An entire campaign in one mail piece for Harry Reid (5 Comments)
Miech Again
On the road to Long Beach, UNLV hoops style (13 Comments)
The Kats Report
Vocal strain prompts Wayne Brady to call off 'Making It Up' until 2010 (1 Comment)
The Greene Room
New Mexico soccer player goes MMA on BYU (16 Comments)
Calendar »
- 9 Mon
- 10 Tue
- 11 Wed
- 12 Thu
- 13 Fri
-
Jo Dee Messina at the House of Blues
House of Blues | 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
-
The Revival Tour at Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar | 9 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
DJ Tina T at Prive
Prive | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
The Automatic Tour at The Square Apple
The Square Apple
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati










