Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Fire ravages historic Moulin Rouge casino

A fast-moving, three-alarm fire destroyed the historic Moulin Rouge this morning, leaving the city's first racially integrated casino a total loss.

When firefighters arrived shortly after 1:15 a.m., they found heavy black smoke billowing out of the building and flames shooting as high as 50 feet into the air, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

About 100 people who live in the former Moulin Rouge hotel, which had been converted into apartments, were evacuated. The 110-room apartment building is separated from the casino by a small courtyard. It sustained smoke and water damage.

Two residents were taken to University Medical Center -- one for smoke inhalation and one for stomach pains.

Firefighters have not been able to determine a cause, and there was not an immediate estimate of the cost of the damage.

The fire swept quickly through the casino. About 2:20 a.m., battalion chief Larry Wickliffe called for a second alarm. Within an hour, the flames had grown more intense, and Wickliffe called for a third alarm. About 75 firefighters fought the blaze.

"We were putting 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of water on the fire per minute," Szymanski said. "We went into a defensive attack because it was just too hot to send in crews. Our main focus was to keep the flames out of the apartments."

The vintage neon Moulin Rogue sign remained intact, although the roof caved in. Firefighters had their ladders extended over the sign and were shooting water down onto the flames.

The casino opened in 1955 and closed five months after its opening. It had operated in fits and starts since with a handful of different owners.

Current owner Bart Maybie had the casino under renovation since 1997. He had plans to remake it into a casino, hotel, restaurant and museum with an opening by the end of this year.

Maybie said he had the building insured for about $2 million and plans to rebuild.

"Right now I'm in shock and, of course, very depressed," Maybie said. "I'm just sick -- not just about losing the building, but really sick because I inhaled some of the smoke as I surveyed the damage this morning."

Paul Wilkins, director of the city's building department, said he expects to tell Maybie to have the building demolished because it's structurally unsound.

"We'll probably never know what happened," Szymanski said. "Once in a while you get a fire like that, a fire that's pretty extensive and you can't determine a cause."

Security personnel told fire officials that they checked the casino around midnight and found nothing unusual. The casino had utilities, but it did not have any working sprinklers.

The casino was not required to have sprinklers because it was not open for business, Wilkins said.

"It's been closed for so long," Wilkins said. "They weren't required to keep up with the current codes."

Residents milled around outside the building, many in night clothes and slippers. About 10 people laid down on the ground in the parking lot of the Desert Breeze apartment complex, next to the Moulin Rogue, using the curb as pillows.

The Red Cross arrived about 3 a.m. and arranged for residents to go to the Dula Senior Center via CAT bus.

Charles Hubert, 29, who lives in the Moulin Rogue apartments, said he and other residents tried to get out the emergency exits, but they were locked.

"There's also a 10-foot tall fence around the outside and that was locked, too," Hubert said. "I guess it was pretty lucky that everyone got out."

When he came out the front door of the apartment building, the flames were about 20 feet from him.

"You could feel the heat coming off them," Hubert said. "I had a notebook that I used to shield my face."

Anita LeGault, 47, another resident, was outside holding a large brown teddy bear. She said her roommate, who works as an electrician for the apartment building, had locked some exits to keep drug dealers out.

When they saw the fire, they unlocked the exits and started banging on residents' doors, she said.

"The people who live here were fighting against the drug dealers," LeGault said. "There's a real sense of community here and everyone looks out for each other."

Nathan Miller, 41, who had lived in the Moulin Rouge apartments for about a month, said he was reading the book "Patriot Games" when someone banged on his door and told him there was a fire.

"I think someone probably set this fire," Miller said. "We have people sneaking in and out of there all the time."

In April Moulin Rogue property managers met with city building department officials and asked about locking some exits to increase safety for apartment residents, Wilkins said.

The building department permitted the apartment managers to lock two exits, leaving four open. The apartment building has six exits, but it's only required to have two, Wilkins said.

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