The Wall Street Journal-20080130-Fire Erupts On Hotel Roof At Foxwoods

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Fire Erupts On Hotel Roof At Foxwoods

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Associated Press

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- A fire on a hotel roof forced hundreds of guests and gamblers out of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., the second such blaze at a U.S. hotel-casino in less than a week.

The Foxwoods fire followed a blaze Friday that damaged the top floors of the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip and sent 17 people to hospitals with minor injuries.

There were no injuries reported from yesterday's fire at the Great Cedar Hotel, one of three hotels at Foxwoods, said Arthur Henick, a spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which runs the casino.

The fire, reported shortly after 11:30 a.m., was still smoldering yesterday afternoon. The cause was under investigation.

Mr. Henick said Foxwoods officials weren't speculating about the cause of the fire, but they believed it started on the roof of the eight-story building. He said he wasn't aware of any construction work that was being done on the roof.

Officials first evacuated the top three floors of the hotel, then later evacuated the entire 312-room building.

As a precaution, officials also evacuated the Great Cedar Casino, located on the ground floor of the hotel and one of Foxwoods' six casinos.

The tribal and state fire marshals' offices also are investigating. More than 50 firefighters from the tribe and nearby towns responded.

Casino officials were assessing the damage. Mr. Henick said most of the damage to the top floors is expected to be from the water used to put out the fire. He said the fire was confined to the roof area.

On Friday, a blaze on exterior foam-based sculpting at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas caused employees and guests in some 2,400 occupied rooms to be evacuated. A cause of that fire hasn't been determined.