The last thing the Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Red Wing, Minn., wanted to gamble with was the safety of its patrons. That’s why the Red Wing Service Co. was dealt in.

Red Wing has been in business for 51 years, serving Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. The company’s main emphasis is fire services, which account for about 85 percent of its revenue.

The Treasure Island installation called for Red Wing to devise a new fire system that would protect the more than 1,400 employees and 20,000 guests who visit the Minnesota hot spot each week. It consists of a casino, hotel, community center, and office and public safety buildings.

The company met the challenge by installing systems featuring Gamewell Co.’s Identifire System 2 (INS 2) and Identiflex 630 fire control panels.

Facility Outgrows its Fire System

Owned and operated by the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe, Treasure Island has undergone tremendous growth during the past seven years. What began as a bingo hall 14 years ago has grown to four casinos, a 250-room hotel, marina, RV park and entertainment facility. The resort’s Caribbean and Spanish motifs create a tropical atmosphere that serves as the backdrop for escapist rest and recreation.

Resort Chooses Local, Familiar Dealer

“I approached Treasure Island some time ago about providing them with central station monitoring equipment,” says Lynn Gustafson, Red Wing sales and design manager. “That never flew, but through general conversation, I eventually became their fire service provider. When they began new construction in 1993, they came back to us since they were happy the first time around.”

Company’s Related Experience Pays Off

Treasure Island officials demanded their new fire system satisfy two criteria. They desired detection that would alert on-duty security personnel without the public being disturbed by a general alarm. They also wanted to have a method of being alerted if a hotel room alarm was triggered or tampered with, rather than just the room’s occupant being made aware of the alarm.

Fortunately for Red Wing, the company had some prior experience meeting such a condition. Gustafson explained to the client how his company’s system worked, and it turned out to be exactly what Treasure Island was looking for.

Casino’s Challenge Overcome

Red Wing began the Treasure Island job in November 1996 and wrapped it up the following March. Fire systems were installed in a seven-story hotel, one of four casinos, a two-story tribal council office building, a public safety building and a recreational building.

The casino and the office building were outfitted with the Gamewell Identifire Network System 2 (INS 2) fire alarm control panel, while the other structures were equipped with Gamewell’s Identiflex 630 analog addressable fire alarm control panel with SmartStart™.

The office, public safety and recreational buildings were fairly standard, straightforward installations, while the casino and hotel were more extensive and labor intensive.

Hotel’s Addressable Hurdle Cleared

Red Wing’s creative plan for wiring the hotel, so that the front desk would be alerted to a room alarm as well as the room’s occupant, made optimal use of the FACP’s addressable capabilities. The panel is completely self-programmable at the push of a button and can monitor up to 504 analog addressable points.

Besides the FACP, the hotel installation also involved 61 signaling devices and 331 detection devices.

System Goes Online; Pays off Handsomely

Red Wing’s handiwork has already reaped dividends for Treasure Island. At least three incidents have been successfully handled by the fire system. Resort personnel were alerted of minor fires before they could become serious problems.

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