Crews battle second fire at Las Vegas apartment complex in 10 days

Firefighters battled a fire at a central Las Vegas Valley apartment complex for the second time in the last two weeks.

Clark County Fire Department crews were called to Solaire Apartments at 1500 E. Karen Ave. just after 10 p.m. Thursday. Units found heavy fire in a breezeway between two of the buildings.

The fire was preventing residents from escaping the eight-unit building, Deputy Fire Chief Roy Session said. He said the department received reports of people jumping from windows to escape, although he was not able to confirm that detail. As a result of the reports, crews first decided to find and account for those people. They were all OK, Session said.

Three of the building’s eight units were occupied during the fire. All eight units were affected. The roof collapsed, affecting the second-floor units. Water damaged the lower units, he said.

“The fire went up so quickly,” Session said.

Crews knocked down the fire about 10:30 p.m., Sessions said. Crews attacked offensively before switching to a defensive approach when the roof collapsed, he said.

The number of people displaced was not immediately known.

More than 50 personnel from the Las Vegas and Clark County fire departments responded, he said.

The Clark County Fire Department worked a fire at the same complex on Feb. 26 and again on March 7. Sixteen people were displaced by the March 7 fire, which Session estimated was about a quarter-mile down from Thursday’s fire.

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Buchanan said it is not uncommon to see multiple fires at the same apartment complex.

“It’s not unusual when we have a highly dense population in one place,” he said. “There are apartment complexes through the valley that have had more than one fire. Some of these places have hundreds of units.”

Buchanan said Friday the causes of all three fires were still under investigation, but they do not appear to be related.

In each fire, crews called in additional resources to battle the flames.

“Because of the common attic is why they go fast,” said Session, echoing comments made by Capt. Thomas Touchstone of the March 7 fire.

Many visibly upset residents watched as firefighters worked at their complex yet again.

“Who’s next?” asked 64-year-old resident Margo Hutchinson.

She said she saw the fire from a neighboring building, and it went up “like a matchbook.”

Resident Tonya McRoyal pointed to a fire truck ladder extending high. She said at one point flames were higher than the end of the ladder.

Cassandra Booker was displaced from her apartment after the March 7 fire. Booker stood next to Hutchinson and lamented those who would soon share her situation.

“This is so tragic,” she said.

She said she has been staying at a hotel since the fire damaged her unit last week. Booker said she planned to move into a new apartment at the complex and visited the apartment earlier in the afternoon.

“I guess I have to move,” Booker said.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.