Fire guts vacant Las Vegas Arts District apartment building during First Friday
More than 60 firefighters worked for more than an hour Friday night to extinguish a large fire in the Las Vegas Arts District.
Numerous 911 calls first reported the blaze at the three-story, vacant apartment building on the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Third Street about 8:15 p.m., Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.
As of 10 p.m., Szymanski said there were no reported injuries, but crews hadn’t yet swept the building.
The fire coincided with First Friday, an art walk in the Arts District that attracts both locals and tourists to vendors and local businesses in the area. Many passersby stopped to take cellphone photos and videos of the blaze as officers and firefighters maintained a safe perimeter.
More than 30 pieces of equipment were used to attack the fire, Szymanski said, including ladders and several engines.
It was unclear as of Friday night what may have caused the fire, though Szymanski said squatting may have been a factor. Damages had not yet been estimated.
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.
