Blaze ravages through vacant apartment building near the Stratosphere

Not far from the Stratosphere sits a vacant apartment complex built in 1957 and used by squatters.

In about half an hour Sunday morning, a blaze had ravaged through it, the Las Vegas Fire Department said. "Heavy" damage to the two-story 10-unit building was estimated at $150,000.

Rescue crews were dispatched about a fire and an explosion at 8:34 a.m. to 2308 Tam Dr., near the intersection of Sahara Avenue and Industrial Road, the Fire Department said. No one was injured.

The fire started downstairs where investigators found a small medical oxygen bottle they said exploded, the Fire Department said.

Before the fire, people would be seen coming in and out of the building, witnesses told officials, and evidence suggests squatters lived there, the Fire Department said.

This is not the first blaze to a vacant building in the area. According to the Fire Department, there were two fires to a single building in Tam Drive late November. Those fires were blamed on squatters, who are known to tear down wood shortly after the buildings are boarded up.

The cause of Sunday's fire remains under investigation.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites