The Monte Carlo hotel-resort-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, will have to remove its trademark facade before it will be allowed to reopen for business.  The burned exterior is a safety hazard after the roof caught on fire Friday afternoon, catching the roof top and parts of at least four floors below it ablaze.  The county building inspector announced on Sunday that they will not allow the thirty-two story resort to reopen until the casino’s owners MGM Mirage Inc. fixes the roof line and removes all the debris and damaged material.  The foam material along the roof is a safety hazard.

MGM Mirage Inc.’s spokesman did not say how long the hotel would be closed.  They still wish to inspect the damage that was done to the top five floors of the building where most of the damage can be found.  Surprisingly enough, the roof was not actually damaged.  MGM is declining to release any figures estimating what the repair cost to the top five floors will be.  The casino up to the twenty-sixth floor has been deemed habitable by the country building inspectors.

It is still unknown what caused the three-alarm fire that raged through the five floors on Friday afternoon.  Official reports claim that there had been welders on the roof installing a window washing apparatus, but it is unknown whether or not they had anything to do with the blaze or how it started.  Guests of the hotel were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries from the falling debris, and only seventeen were taken to the local hospital.  

One hundred twenty fire-fighters were on hand to fight the fire.  None of them were hurt even though they had to break windows and lean out of them in order to hose the fire above.  The hotel is more the ten stories tall, out of the reach of the fire departments ladders which is why the fire-fighters had to rely on the standpipe system within the hotel itself to battle the blaze.  Because of the urban location, helicopter water drops were not considered feasible.  

Guests of the hotel were allowed to retrieve their personal belongings late Friday and Saturday, and they were found accommodations at other MGM properties in Las Vegas for the duration of their stay.  The president and chief operating officer of the Monte Carlo released a statement stating that employees would receive pay and benefits for thirty days or until the hotel reopened for business.  There were approximately 2,800 employees and at least 5,000 guests staying at the hotel when the fire broke out.