Five Rescued from Fire at Vacant Las Vegas Hotel

Five people were pulled from a burning vacant hotel by Las Vegas firefighters early Friday, according to the department.

Crews responded to calls just after 2 a.m. concerning smoke issuing from the two-story building in the 600 block of East Carson Avenue, the Las Vegas Fire Department said in a statement. Once at the scene, firefighters could see flames coming from the second floor of the hotel, which the department said is vacant and has no utilities connected to it.

One person used a ladder to escape the hotel's second-floor window, and two other people were taken from the building's roof, the department said. Firefighters also pulled two other individuals from the smoke-filled hotel.

Showing signs of minor smoke inhalation, one of the people who was rescued was taken to a local hospital for observation, the department said. The other individuals immediately left scene after they were saved from the fire, and no firefighters were hurt during the rescue or extinguishing the blaze.

Evidence of squatters staying in the hotel was found by firefighters, and the hotel is on the same block and next to two other vacant buildings currently in the process of being demolished, according to the department. A number of fires have happened at those locations in the past.

Investigators believe the fire began in a second-floor room, which was gutted by the blaze. Firefighters, however, were able to contain the flames to that room, and the fire's cause is undetermined. A damage estimate also was unavailable.