CHARRED CASINO: Firefighters take a moment to collect themselves following their successful effort in combating a vehicle fire that had begun to spread to the south end of the Colorado Belle hotel and casino in Laughlin on Monday afternoon. In all, more than 30 firefighters worked to combat the blaze, including personnel from Clark County, Bullhead City and Fort Mojave Mesa. JAMES CHILTON/The Daily News
Pickup truck crashes into lower level, bursts into flames
By JAMES CHILTON/The Daily News
Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 1:28 AM MDT
LAUGHLIN ā Several hundred employees and guests of the Colorado Belle hotel and casino in Laughlin were evacuated Monday afternoon after a vehicle fire on the Belleās receiving dock spread up the side of the building, scorching the exterior.
Firefighters are still attempting to determine exactly what caused the driver of a late-model Ford F-250 pickup truck to crash it into a staircase in the Belleās receiving dock area, where it burst into flames, burning most of the truck and spreading flames up the side of the building.
The fire was called in at approximately 2:15 p.m. after workers and guests in the south end of the building began to notice smoke rising just outside their windows. Casino management swiftly evacuated that end of the building, including about 200 hotel rooms and the Pints Brewery & Sports Bar, which will remain closed until it receives clearance from the Health Department.
āWe did evacuate all the rooms on what we call the āboatā section, and we closed (that part of) the building for about an hour as precautionary measures,ā said Mark Sterbens, marketing director for the Colorado Belle. āThe fire department cleared us within about an hour.ā
According to Clark County Fire Department Capt. Shawn Williams, 33 area firefighters responded to the scene, including members from the Clark County, Bullhead City and Fort Mojave Mesa fire departments. Williams said the fire was initially reported as a boat fire before the true cause was determined. Before the firefighters arrived, Williams said, several staff at the Colorado Belle attempted to tackle the fire themselves using casino fire extinguishers before it became apparent they were fighting a losing battle. He said casino staff also helped the 63-year-old driver of the pickup out of the vehicle before it became completely engulfed.
Once firefighters did arrive on scene, Williams said it only took them about three or four minutes to extinguish the blaze. Despite that, however, he said the fire had posed a serious threat to the building, and would have continued to spread had the fire department not been called.
āIt was substantial,ā he said. āIt couldāve busted the windows and gotten into the hotel.ā
Preliminary investigation put the damage estimate at about $50,000, which includes the value of the totaled pickup truck, which was towed from the scene. While structural engineers had yet to complete an assessment of the building Monday afternoon, both Williams and Sterbens said they believed the damage to the casino to be purely cosmetic, and that the structure of the building remained intact.
āI went inside and I didnāt see any evidence of fire intrusion; it appeared that it was all exterior,ā Williams said.
āWeāve hired an engineer to come out and assess the damage, but at this point we donāt believe there is any structural damage,ā Sterbens added.
Four people, including the driver of the pickup truck, were transported to Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City on Monday afternoon. The driver was treated for burns to his arm, while the three other patients were treated for smoke inhalation. According to hospital spokeswoman Sarah Morga-Mangum, all four patients were released later Monday afternoon.
According to Williams, Las Vegas Metro Police were attempting to interview the pickup driver regarding his role in the initial crash that caused the fire. Calls to the LVMPD for further information were not returned by press time, though the pickupās license plate suggests the driver was a Nevada resident.
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