Flamingo fire safety

One rejection of public safety standards could be considered an aberration. Two incidents within the same company might be a coincidence. But three violations of a similar nature? That's trouble.

Harrah's Entertainment was working to remedy hotel room renovations that were completed at the Rio without proper permits and safety inspections when word came that similar deficiencies existed at Harrah's Las Vegas. Then, just last week, company executives learned that Flamingo Las Vegas workers were told to remove a piece of safety equipment from one floor to obtain a part so another floor would pass a fire inspection.

As with the room renovations that weren't constructed to code, it took a whistle-blower to alert authorities. Clark County Fire Department inspectors confirmed Friday afternoon that all emergency fire doors weren't operating properly at the Flamingo, putting guest safety at risk.

Marybel Batjer, a Harrah's Entertainment vice president for communications, wasn't aware of the problem until contacted Friday by the Review-Journal.

"Anything that would put into question the safety system is of utmost importance to us," Ms. Batjer said.

It's now obvious, however, that this philosophy is not appropriately ingrained in all levels of Harrah's management. Chuck Gillenwater, the carpenter who tipped the county to the problem, said his bosses were "nonchalant" about asking him to remove parts from some sections of the hotel to replace broken parts in other areas.

Ms. Batjer said a supervisor involved in the deficient fix had been suspended pending a company investigation. Mr. Gillenwater, meanwhile, was laid off by Roman Empire Development, the Harrah's Entertainment subsidiary that does in-house improvements.

Clark County's strict fire safety standards exist for very good reason. An electrical ground fault caused the 1980 MGM Grand fire that killed 87 people, and after the blaze, inspectors found 83 building code violations. Housing thousands of guests and workers inside massive buildings that have a limited number of exits demands extraordinary protection against spreading flame and smoke.

It's in the best interests of Harrah's Las Vegas to make "safety first" more than a slogan for cafeteria signs and company e-mails -- executives have to make it a corporate culture to compensate for this fall's errors. Clearly, Harrah's can't afford a fourth such failure.