Inspections continue at the Venetian

John Wilen

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.

Clark County Building Department officials today said the 3,036-room Venetian resort's entire hotel tower could be open in a "couple days" if inspections go well.

The casino and portions of the resort opened to the public for the first time Tuesday, but construction delays prevented opening of the entire hotel tower at that time.

Life safety inspections in the hotel tower were suspended Tuesday night after inspectors had worked several shifts in a row, said Ron Lynn, assistant director of the Clark County Building Department.

"I took my people off last night because they were tired," said Lynn. "They need to be safe and alert."

Bob Leinbach, a spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said the life safety inspections take place at night, while the regular inspections take place during daytime hours.

The life safety system inspections will likely begin again today, said Lynn. Life safety systems include sensors that are triggered by fire or smoke, the electronic and computer systems that monitor the sensors and the smoke removal and sprinkler systems that would respond in the case of a fire.

Some, but not all, of the life safety systems are tested with piped-in smoke, he said.

Regular inspections of things like fire extinguishers, sprinkler head placement, exit signs and kitchen hood and duct systems continued Tuesday and will continue today, said Lynn.

Open Wednesday morning were the Venetian's casino, the resort's second floor mezzanine and offices, its third floor recreational facilities and the fourth through sixth floor hotel rooms. The fourth floor is the first of 32 floors of hotel rooms.

Also open was much of the back of the Venetian's house, four of its restaurants, shops and bars connected directly to the casino, and the parking garage, said Lynn.

All open parts of the resort are operating under temporary occupancy permits, said Lynn. The temporary permits carry various conditions, including a condition that all other parts of the resort be inspected and permitted before a permanent occupancy permit is issued, said Lynn.

Lynn declined to speculate when the life safety inspections in the hotel tower would be complete. He said the life safety inspectors will "regroup" today and get back on schedule tonight. If all goes well, the rest of the Venetian's 32-floor hotel could be open in a "couple days," he said.

"It's subject to a great deal to their efforts and scheduling," said Lynn of the Venetian's contractors and management.

Venetian officials could not be reached for comment today. The Venetian has been moving guests scheduled to stay in its hotel this week to other resorts in town.

Lynn said it is not rare for life safety system tests to fail their initial tests.

"I have rarely ... gone into a test where it works 100 percent the first time," said Lynn. "This isn't surprising at all."