LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A fire caused by a rooftop swamp cooler forced guests at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino to evacuate Tuesday morning.
"I'm worried. It's not a good idea to be inside a hotel if it's on fire," said Stephen Faustina a hotel guest.
Faustina had a major scare when he got an unexpected call from his son Tuesday morning.
"My son called me and said they have to evacuate because the alarm was going off. He is on the 36th floor and we are staying on the eighth floor. We didn't hear any alarm on the eighth floor and no one told us to evacuate," Faustina said.
Immediately, this Texas tourist called the Treasure Island's front desk and was told everything was under control.
"There was an incident on the 36th floor but it was contained and we didn't have to evacuate. I called my son back and he said there are a lot of firemen running around up. We are told to leave the building," Faustina said.
Clark County Fire confirmed the blaze at the Las Vegas Strip property just after 9 a.m.
Fire officials said smoke had spread through the hotel's air conditioning system, affecting the 24th through 36th floors. Black smoke was also seen coming from the structure's rooftop.
"An air conditioning unit on the roof was on fire so they (firefighters) deployed their hose line and extinguished the fire. However, we had a lot of smoke," said Fire Chief Bertral Washington.
Fourteen people suffered minor smoke-related injuries. Although fire officials said there was no need for a mass hotel evacuation, only those guests on the top floor were taken to a safe location.
"We did do a shelter in place on some of the floors given that we had smoke traveling through the halls. We asked people to stay in their rooms until we cleared the smoke out," Washington said.
About 90 firefighters from Las Vegas Fire and Rescue and CCFD were called to assist in extinguishing the blaze and evacuating people.
CCFD noted the fire was a two-alarm response, which is standard for any reported fire in a high-rise building.
As for Stephen, he was glad the situation did not take a turn for the worst.
"Oh it was fine. I'm OK. I hope my son and his wife are OK, but we had a nice visit here in Vegas," Faustina said.
A spokesperson for Clark County said the swamp cooler malfunctioned, sparking the fire. The damage is estimated at $20,000.
Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
(Christian Cazares/FOX5)
(Dave Lawrence/FOX5)
(Courtesy: Annie Cook)
