On Friday (Jan. 25) the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was feeling the heat. A fire on the roof of the 32 story building forced guests and gamblers to flee.

It was around mid-morning when the fire took hold and spread across the rooftop façade, mostly made of a foam building material.

Five people were hospitalized, including four who reported difficulty breathing and one with an unspecified minor injury, said John Wilson the general manager of ambulance companies American Medical Response and Medic West.

“All of them were as a result of the evacuation,” said Wilson, “not because of the fire itself.”

Investigators are trying to determine whether the fire had simply burned the resort’s façade or penetrated rooms. The Monte Carlo guests were directed to several nearby hotels and the several hundred employees were being fed and housed at the MGM Grand Arena.

Huge crowds formed to watch the fire, and traffic on Strip was gridlocked as streets were blocked off around the hotel. At the nearby casinos patrons drank and watched the blaze on the T.V. The Associated Press reported that gamblers continued to playing on the Monte Carlo casino floor while the hotel was being evacuated.

Currently clean up of the fire is under way and it is still not clear when the 3,000-room casino-hotel will re-open for business.

Dan Kulin, the Clark County spokesman says fire officials are still waiting for the company to remover or secure the burned exterior façade to prevent debris from falling down.