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Fire damages 7 cars at Las Vegas airport parking garage

Updated November 16, 2019 - 4:06 pm

Firefighters on Saturday morning extinguished a car blaze that damaged six other vehicles in a parking garage at McCarran International Airport.

The initial report came in about 11:15 a.m. of a car on fire in the Terminal 3 garage, said airport spokesman Chris Jones.

The fire was on level three of the garage, in the long-term parking area, Clark County Fire Battalion Chief Joseph Page said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries.

When firefighters arrived, seven vehicles were on fire, Page said. The blaze was extinguished in about 11 minutes.

There was “moderate to extensive” damage to the vehicles, Page said. The parking garage was closed for more than an hour on level three and higher.

By 3:30 p.m., the cluster of charred vehicles was still in the parking garage with yellow caution tape around them. Ash was on nearby cars and the ceiling above the burnt cars was blackened. A strong burnt scent lingered in the air.

“All parking garage fires have their challenges,” Page said, including getting crews to the right location and accessing a water source. “We were lucky it’s on level three, which is not that high.”

An engine overheating is a common cause of vehicle fires, Page said. Parking garages are a tight space and when a vehicle catches on fire, it can quickly spread, he said.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.

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