On Thursday January 25th a fire broke out at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The fire forced the evacuation of its 3,002 rooms and casino. More than a dozen people suffered minor injuries. The fire started at 11am and firefighters battled the blaze for than an hour.

Preliminary reports suggest that the blaze started on the roof and burned off some of the building's façade. The cause of the fire, which was mostly confined to the exterior of the building, is under investigation.

When I turned on the news and saw the live video of the fire burning my first thought were of the MGM Grand Casino fire that occurred on the Strip in November 1980 that killed 89 people. An investigation determined that a sprinkler system could have averted the disaster. New safety laws were passes and all casinos built since that time have sprinklers and smoke alarms installed for safety. The MGM Grand was on the site where Ballys is today.