Breaking News: Mizpah Hotel In Downtown Reno On Fire
KNRV Channel 4 News is reporting that a building near the intersection of Lake and Second Streets is on fire. The footage is not on their website yet, but its a big fire and people have reportedly had to escape through the first and second floor windows of the building.
RGJ.com is reporting that its the Mizpah Hotel and that at least one person had to be rescued from the roof of the building.
Update:
It is the Mizpah Hotel–one of Reno’s great historic buildings. “It was built in three stages by the Pincolini brothers and remains in the same family ownership today. The first section opened in 1922, and was expanded in 1925 and again in 1930. The Mizpah Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and on the Reno City Register of Historic Places in 1999.(historical information courtesy of Fabio Reginato, Owner, Mizpah Hotel).”
It also means the Blind Onion might be damaged. This is terrible.
Similar Posts:
- Reno and Beyond: Nevada Has Gone Crazy!
- Saturday Inside The Mizpah and The Waterfront Towers
- Help Victims Of The Mizpah Fire
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I happened by it at 10:30p–noxious smoke first caught my attention, then I glanced up to see gigantic orange flames. From Siena and the Reno arch, it looked like Harrah’s was on fire. Lasting images scorched in my memory:
•hearing panicked yelling and screaming coming from inside the building.
•repeated commands broadcast via megaphone: IF YOU’RE INSIDE THE BUILDING, GET TO A WINDOW NOW. NOW, GET TO A WINDOW.
•watching a firefighter on a ladder coax a terrified and likely shocked guy in a white ball cap from a window. After some discussion with the firefighter, smoke rolled up from the man’s feet and billowed from the window. The guy vomited out the window, turned back to window and slowly stretched a leg out the window to find the first rung of the ladder as the firefighter hugged the guy’s calves.
•cars parked askew on sidewalks and facing the wrong direction. Firefighters? Off-duty first responders? Perhaps, but mostly passers by who jumped out of their cars to snap photos with their cell phone cameras.
•standing on the street with a crowd of 10 people, including a man who, “People are dying up there.”
Indeed, one poor soul died and another was airlifted to the Burn Unit at UC-Davis. More were injured. Another 60 people or more lost everything.
Dig deep for the Red Cross and other relief campaigns. This was a real tragedy and it happened in our backyard, not thousands of miles away.
Myrna, be sure to visit the Sun’s website today! Love this headline:
Tapes worth little without proof of their authenticity
(and then it talks about a fourth 9-1-1 call from someone claiming to be Mazzeo’s sister wanting to know if Mazzeo had called in a rape! Now, if it was Mazzeo’s sister, wouldn’t she have named herself? Hmmmm…)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/nov/01/566656442.html
oops! posted my previous comment under the wrong story! sorry and my heartfelt sorrow to the people of the Mizpah!
What a terrible story all around. Six dead (so far), dozens injured, perhaps dozens more left homeless, and one of Reno’s prettiest, most historic structures practically destroyed. Ditto what PR Diva said–people are going to need help and we should all do what we can.
I just took my dogs fro a walk to check out the damage of the Mizpah…the South side of the building where Pho777, Blind Onion and the Tatoo Place, seems to be ok. The building is shaped like a big U. The North side however, about two feet of brick are missing on on the south, north and west facing walls, the roof is completely gone on the entire north section, and the top two floors are completely gutted and devastated. It looks like the bottom floor suffered considerable water damage as well. If they could somehow cut the building in half on the West side where the two sections connect, maybe the South Side can be saved. I don’t know how the North side could be saved, there is so much brick missing on the walls not to mention the roof caving in.
Poor Mizpah, poor people. What was that woman thinking? nuts.