From the Niagara Falls Review:
A fire at the Monte Carlo casino in Las Vegas Friday shows why other fire departments, including Niagara Falls, need to be ready to battle a blaze in a high-rise building.
“There are a lot of things at play in high rises,” said assistant fire Chief Phil Ross.
“It’s the most taxing type of fire because we may lose elevators, which means walking 30, 40, or 50 stories to fight a fire,” Ross said.
The fire in Vegas was in the 32-storey Monte Carlo hotel-casino. It’s about the same height as the hotel at Niagara Falls Casino Resort.
The Hilton on Fallsview Boulevard, Sheraton Fallsview, Embassy Suites and Sheraton on the Falls hotels are all about the same size. Construction is going on now at the Hilton site to increase it to 58 storeys. As well, Canadian Niagara Hotels has city approval to build a 59-storey hotel on Falls Avenue.
When high-rise hotels arrived in Niagara Falls, there were questions about whether the city owned the right equipment. But in a high-rise fire, firefighters go in and up.