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A massive fire on the rooftop pool deck of Las Vegas’ sprawling Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino was only made worse by the fake palm trees and cabanas, fire officials ruled.
The blaze, which broke out shortly after Noon Saturday, consumed a good portion of the pool deck and sent plumes of black smoke billowing across the famed Las Vegas Strip.
Firefighters put out the blaze swiftly but not before countless numbers of people had to be evacuated from the 3000-room resort. Two people suffered from smoke inhalation.
Julio Loredo of San Francisco was in his room on the 33rd floor of the neighboring Vdara hotel when his room started to darken. “We looked out the window, and there was ash hitting our window,” Loredo told the Associated Press.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Sun, hotel guest Michael Cuestas and his wife were in town from Arizona for her birthday weekend, staying on the 21st floor of the hotel’s west tower.
”We heard a really loud pop and then a bunch of screams,” he said. They ran outside and saw flames and lots of black smoke, Cuestas said.
Firefighters were being lauded for their fast response that helped prevent the fire from spreading inside the building proper, where it would have been more difficult to contain.
The pool was reopened by Sunday afternoon.
The Cosmopolitan pool is considered one of the swankiest in Las Vegas. The adjacent Marquee Dayclub is famed for its bottled champagne delivery via drones.
No word yet on when it will reopen.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
