Las Vegas NowThe Hilton Fire: 22 Years Later

The Hilton Fire: 22 Years Later

Feb. 10, 2003, is the 22nd anniversary of one of the worst tragedies in the of the worst tragedies in the Valley's history: The Las Vegas Hilton fire.

Eyewitness Recalls Fatal Blaze
Twenty years ago Saturday, a deadly fire killed eight and injured 200 at the Las Vegas Hilton. The blaze prompted changes in fire safety that have saved thousands of lives. But even two decades later, those who were on the scene can't forget the graphic images of that tragic day. Hilton hotel guests hung from windows, calling to firefighters pleading for help, pleading for their lives. 

Twenty years later, Clark County Fire Captain Jim Perkins can still vividly recall the scene of the Hilton fire.

"The biggest thing was going up the stairwells; the walls were really black and covered with soot and the heat was really high," Perkins said. "Once we got up on the floors, the smoke itself was really a real strong heavy plastic type of smoke."

The noxious smoke burned Perkins and his partner's lungs.

"We had both been overcome with hydrogen cyanide gas, and we spent four or five days in the hospital afterwards," he said.

Still, Perkins personally managed to save dozens of guests from the flames and smoke that killed eight people and injured more than 200.

 "We found several victims that were unconscious that we had to carry down the stairwell," Perkins said. "At the Hilton Hotel fire, we felt a little bit of vindication, because we came across a lot of people on the MGM fire that we weren't able to do anything for being able to actually resuscitate somebody and save somebody and deliver them into the hands of medical care was a very good feeling."

Still, the fire captain says being on the scene of the both the MGM and Hilton fires, knowing people were dying inside, was devastating.

"Personally, it's been a very hard thing to deal with," Perkins said. "I think it's been a hard thing to deal with for anybody who was involved in all of it."

Perkins says while personally devastating, professionally the Clark County Fire Department grew stronger. New fire codes and safety measures put in place due to the deadly MGM and Hilton fires now make Las Vegas one of the safest places to live and visit. 

Investigating the Man Convicted of Setting the Fire
The man convicted of setting the Hilton blaze is still behind bars. Phillip Cline was sentenced to eight life terms without parole for setting the blaze.

Cline has always claimed the fire began accidentally while he was engaged in sex with a mystery man. Even though the evidence against him was overwhelming, Cline still hopes to get a new trial someday. George Knapp is here with more this special assignment report.

Phillip Bruce Cline was a room service busboy at the Hilton on that terrible night. At first, it appeared he was a hero for his efforts to warn hotel guests about the flames. But his story -- make that stories -- soon crumbled, and a jury put him away forever. Is it possible to be completely guilty but still not get a fair shake from the legal system? Another Nevada court may have to decide that question someday.

In the first interview granted by Cline after his conviction 20 years ago, he complained to Channel 8 that he didn't get a fair shake and didn't deserve his sentence.

"I'm not a violent person like they think I am," Cline said. "I didn't light that fire."

Police may not have nailed Cline at all for the eight Hilton murders, but for a verbal slip by Cline himself. He'd been praised for his efforts at the fire scene because he had tried to warn hotel guests and claimed to have fought the blaze using a trash basket filled with water.

In his statement to police, however, Cline made a Freudian slip. He wrote that he had grabbed a trash can and filled it up with fire.

Homicide detective Chuck Lee asked Cline to take a polygraph. During the test, Cline broke down.

In an interview with police, Cline confessed that he accidentally ignited the fire during a sexual encounter on the eighth floor. Cline identified the man only as Joe. After their tryst, he said they smoked marijuana and the joint torched a curtain. Investigators tried to duplicate this scenario but couldn't get the drapes to burn.

That wasn't the only problem with Cline's story. The Hilton fire had not one, but four points of origin, on four different floors, meaning it wasn't an accident. And, despite all efforts, no one ever found Joe.

Lawyer Kevin Kelly was fresh out of law school when he agreed to represent Cline. He cruised gay bars at night, looking for the mysterious Joe, to no avail. Kelly says there was a lot of pressure at the time to put Cline away fast. The Hilton fire, coming on the heels of the MGM disaster, was a major blow to the reputation of Las Vegas.

The evidence against Cline was powerful and he was quickly convicted. But Kelly insists there remain solid reasons for an appeal, including jury misconduct, but because of legal technicalities, Cline's case has never been reviewed.

Cline is now represented by the federal public defender's office but it's proven extremely difficult to get any answers from them about the status of any appeals. For the past few years, Cline has been kept in the Nevada State Prison at Lovelock. Late last year, he wrote to us, vowing that he was ready to spill the beans.