Candles igniting wind-blown curtain caused of fire at Cosmopolitan

A fire at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Saturday night was caused by a guest using candles near an open sliding door in a hotel room, authorities said.

Clark County firefighters were called at 7:57 p.m. to the Strip property, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South, after a report of smoke on the 51st floor and found what officials initially described as a balcony on fire, according to a statement from the fire department.

The floor was evacuated while firefighters extinguished the blaze. Multiple people were taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center with minor injuries.

Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Warren Whitney said the fire caused little damage.

“The occupant of the room, they had candles lit and they had the sliding door open and it was windy,” Whitney said. “The wind blew a curtain into a candle and ignited the curtain.”

Whitney said someone, believed to be an occupant of the room, put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.

“It wasn’t actually a balcony fire,” Whitney said, correcting the initial report. “It was an interior fire.”

Whitney said the curtain was destroyed, but apart from that there was “very little damage.”

The fire department initially questioned why a sprinkler system didn’t go off in the room, but investigators determined that the wind was blowing so hard that it kept temperatures cool in the room, keeping the sprinkler system from activating.

The Cosmopolitan issued a statement regarding the fire.

“The fire started at approximately 8 p.m. within a guest room of Boulevard Tower,” the property said, adding “Guests were immediately alerted through the resort’s emergency response program and proper evacuation procedures were used. At The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the safety and security of our guests and employees remains our top priority.”

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.