Prop shop suffers $100,000 in damage in downtown Vegas

A blaze caused about $100,000 in damage to a former costume and prop shop next door to the Hartland Mansion in downtown Las Vegas Saturday.

Las Vegas Fire Department crews responded about 6:30 a.m. to 525 Park Paseo, near Charleston and Las Vegas boulevards, where smoke was coming from the chimney of a one-story vacant house.

The owner of the house, which was used as a prop, costume and party decoration store, died several years ago, Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. The business has been closed since then.

Firefighters had the fire out in about 15 minutes, but because of the number of items stored in the house, they had to do an “extensive overhaul operation,” he said. The blaze burned through the ceiling and also damaged the building’s attic.

After investigators gathered evidence to determine the cause of the fire, firefighters had to go through the boxes and props to make sure there were no embers, Szymanski said.

“Everything imaginable is in there,” Szymanski said. “He’s even got a big coffin in there. There’s a lot of stuff.”

There were no injuries and the cause of the fire was not immediately available, he said.

Review-Journal writer Ricardo Torres contributed to this report. Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber.