Parker, Waichman, Alonso LLP

Home » Topics » Other Topics » Foxwoods Casino Fire

Foxwoods Resort Casino Fire

A fire broke out at the Great Cedar Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut on January 29, 2008.  The fire, which started on the roof of the Foxwoods Resort Casino hotel, resulted in no injuries.  However, the entire 312-room Great Cedar Hotel had to be evacuated while fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze. 

Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Great Cedar Hotel are owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. Great Cedar is the Mashantuckets' second hotel and second casino, but it was the first to house both a hotel and a casino in the same building.

Shortly before noon on January 29, a guard stationed on the street at a security post directly across from the Great Cedar Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino reported that he had seen smoke and flames appear from the roof.  More than 50 firefighters from the tribe and nearby towns responded.

As a result of the fire, the roof of the eight-story Great Cedar Hotel smoldered through mid-afternoon. The fire was out by early evening, and crews began peeling back the steel roof where authorities believe the Foxwoods Casino Resort hotel fire started. According to fire officials, the Great Cedar Hotel fire broke out between a mechanical equipment room near the roof and an exterior hall.

Nearly 300 Evacuated from the Great Cedar Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino

Staff at the Great Cedar Hotel first evacuated the top two floors of the building, and then the entire hotel.  As a precaution, the casino floor at the Great Cedar Hotel was also evacuated.  More than 280 guests were moved to rooms at other Foxwoods hotels, as well as at a hotel in a nearby town.  The evacuated Foxwoods casino guests where not permitted to return to their rooms to retrieve personal belongings until the following day.

The Great Cedar Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino remained closed for several days after the fire, although the casino on the ground floor was able to open the day after the blaze.

Legal Help

If you or a loved one were a guest at the Great Cedar Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino and were evacuated as a result of the January 29, 2008 fire, you may have valuable legal rights.  Please fill out the form at the right for a free lawsuit case evaluation by a qualified attorney.