Editorial: Emergency plans deserve top priority

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003 | 9:25 a.m.

A new state law requires hotel-casinos with more than 200 rooms to submit their emergency evacuation and response plans to state government and local police and fire departments. But so far just 13 casinos in Southern Nevada, out of the more than 80 that are required to file these plans, had done so by the Oct. 31 deadline. Tim Donovan, head of security at Mandalay Bay and president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association, said it's not as if the emergency plans don't exist -- hotel-casinos are required to have them before they're allowed to open.

So why the lack of compliance? Jerry Bussell, chairman of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission, said he thinks the word didn't get out to enough properties. Donovan said information about the requirement was provided to the hotel-casinos in mid-September and that they're working to get the plans to Metro Police and the Clark County Fire Department.

The emergency plans apply to any type of disaster, but foremost in the minds of legislators passing the requirement during the 2003 Legislature was the specter of terrorism. There already is a great deal of cooperation between the hotel-casinos and local fire and police departments when it comes to emergency preparedness, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that most hotel-casinos failed to meet last month's deadline. The stragglers should get their plans in immediately.