Firefighters rescued five people from a vacant downtown hotel that caught fire early this morning, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials said.
Two people were rescued from the roof of the smoke-filled, two-story building, while another person was taken out by ladder from a second-floor window, officials said. The fire department did not say how the other two people were rescued.
One person showed signs of minor smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital for observation, officials said. The others who were rescued left the scene, officials said.
Fire dispatchers received several calls about 2 a.m. today about smoke coming from the old hotel at Carson Avenue and Sixth Street, officials said. Flames and smoke were coming from the second floor when firefighters arrived, officials said.
Investigators determined the fire started in a room on the second floor. The room was gutted, but the blaze was contained to the one room, officials said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but there was evidence that squatters were staying in the building, officials said.
A damage estimate was not available.
The building is located on the same block and next to two other vacant buildings which have had a number of fires in the past, officials said. Those buildings are in the process of being demolished.