Decorative Trees Not Covered By Clark County Fire Codes
The fake palm trees burned rapidly in last Saturday's fire on a pool deck of the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, but the fire was extinguished quickly.
Officials in Clark County, Nevada, home of Las Vegas, confirmed that their codes do not regulate the use of fake palm trees like the ones that burned rapidly in a fire last Saturday on a pool deck of the Cosmopolitan.
County officials issued a statement July 27 saying their strict fire codes helped to prevent flames from spreading; the codes require poolside cabanas to be of non-combustible material and be at least 20 feet away from fuel-fired equipment, but there are no local or national codes governing outdoor decorations such as the artificial landscaping at the hotel's 14th floor Bamboo Pool, Kimberly De La Cruz of the Review Journal reported.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way. The fire started around 12:15 p.m. and was extinguished in less than 30 minutes.