Monte Carlo Hotel Fire - High Rise Hotel Fire Safety

    LAS VEGAS, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ --

    What: Opinion of Fire Safety Expert

    Who: John C. Fannin III, President of KCI Protection Technologies LLC

    Contact: For follow-up contact or interviews call: Pamela Hague, voice:
             302-479-7000, mobile: 302-559-4543, email: phague@kci.com

At 11 am Friday January 25, 2008, a three-alarm fire broke out on the roof of the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas, NV. According to reports the falling embers caused fires to erupt in both the south and west wings of the building. All 3,000 guests of the 32 floor hotel were reported to have been safely evacuated.

"In an emergency, there are challenges associated with the evacuation of high-rise buildings. Every high-rise building has unique characteristics including design, construction, condition and use," said John C Fannin III, President of KCI Protection Technologies.

Proper exits combined with emergency lighting, detection and alarm, and fire sprinkler systems are crucial to occupant safety. It is essential the exit routes are accessible and unobstructed. Local fire and building officials should be consulted to assist in determining the adequacy of building exits and safety systems.

Advance preparation is critical to the effective evacuation and safety of building occupants. Guest safety and security is paramount.

The National Fire Protection Association reports that recent statistics indicate there are nearly 5,000 hotel fires in the US each year - that's a fire in one out of ever ten U.S. Hotels. These fires caused an annual average of 16 civilian deaths, 194 civilian fire injuries, and $85.9 million in direct property damage. "It wasn't until the 1990 enactment of the federal Hotel & Motel fire safety act and revisions the Life Safety Code - a provision of the National Fire Codes, that meaningful reductions in hotel fire rates and losses were realized," according to Fannin.

KCI Protection Technologies LLC provides innovative technical, scientific and management solutions in security, fire protection, risk analysis, life safety and emergency management. Our products and services, related to the protection of people, property, information and mission against preventable losses, include strategic advisory services, technical assistance, consultation, engineering design, conformity assessment, software and information resources, program development, and specialized training and education. KCI-PT is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. For more information about KCI Protection Technologies please visit www.kci.com/protection.

    Media Contact
    Pamela Hague
    phague@kci.com
    Direct: 302-479-7000
    Mobile: 302-559-4543

    Chris Carbone
    ccarbone@kci.com
    Direct: 410-891-1754
    Mobile: 410-615-0973