January 25, 2008, began as a typical day for the Clark County (NV) Fire Department. Morning duties and apparatus and equipment inspections were completed, and the crews prepared for another day. A rookie school was nearing completion, and live fire drills were underway for them at the training center, about one mile from the Monte Carlo Hotel.
Owned and operated by the MGM-Mirage Group, the Monte Carlo Hotel is a 32-story resort casino, built in the late 1990s. This mega-resort boasts 3,002 rooms and all the amenities expected in a high-end Las Vegas hotel. The hotel is on the south end of the famous Las Vegas Strip, which is actually in the unincorporated area of Clark County and is protected by Battalion 2 (B2).
At 1057 hours, the alarm office at Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Headquarters, the regional dispatch center for area fire departments, received a call for a fire at the Monte Carlo, reporting the top two floors were on fire. At 1058 hours, a high-rise response was sent: four engines, two trucks, two rescues, 271 (EMS supervisor), and Battalion 6 (covering for B2). This included units from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue on automatic aid. Within seconds, dispatch received multiple calls indicating that this was a major fire.
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