Blaze breaks out just after repairs

Fire safety at the Meridian, an upscale condominium property near the Strip, might have been restored in the nick of time. One day after a vital fire line to a Meridian building was repaired, the building had a small fire, which was quickly extinguished by a ceiling sprinkler fed from a newly fixed pipe, according to county spokeswoman Stacey Welling.

The repairs were made only after fire inspectors reopened a complaint they earlier had closed.

The Review-Journal reported in May the concerns of two men who filed a complaint in October. They feared the Clark County Fire Department, which closed the complaint in January, had dismissed them as disgruntled former employees of HK Plumbing, which the men say did the deficient work.

After the newspaper coverage, the Fire Department recently reopened the complaint, which alleged a leaking fire line had been repaired in substandard fashion, creating a risk the line could burst under high water pressure during a fire.

The faulty repair bypassed a line called a riser, which feeds fire sprinklers and firefighter hoses. It remained in what might have been an unsafe condition for eight months.

"It was an emergency, (a licensed contractor) made the repair" at the Meridian, said Welling.

The repair in the fall by HK Plumbing was inadequate, she confirmed. In late May, the state fire marshal's office also confirmed that HK Plumbing does not hold the specialized plumbing license required for working on fire lines.

Harry Sullard, the owner of HK Plumbing, has not returned numerous messages left with the business' answering service, requesting an interview. Welling said county representatives have not yet reached Sullard, either. The Fire Department continues its investigation, she said, with no decision on whether to issue citations in connection with the deficient work.

Meanwhile, troubles have not ended at the Meridian, nor for HK Plumbing.

Though the small closet fire in an occupied condo unit on June 1 was swiftly handled with minimal damage, the Meridian is now under scrutiny by Clark County Public Response for possible violations of county law.

The Meridian, 250 E. Flamingo Road, has approximately 680 units. Public Response last week "opened a case" into whether the Meridian is illegally renting units for overnight use, Welling said. She said it has obtained county permission to go forward with steps to convert to rentals of less than 31 days, but has not completed the steps.

HK Plumbing is under scrutiny by Clark County building officials, according to Welling, for doing work at locations without obtaining permits. It does hold a state contractor's license to do plumbing that is not part of a fire-suppression system, as well as a county business license.

Eric Edwards recently supplied the building division and contractors board with copies of invoices for many of the jobs that HK Plumbing did between 2002 and 2007. The company's former controller, Edwards said he kept a digital set of invoices off site, for backup in case of emergency, but Sullard didn't ask for them back when he fired Edwards.

Edwards and Mario Salinas, a plumber, are the two men fired from HK after they expressed concern about the fire line job at the Meridian. The two filed complaints last year with the Fire Department and Nevada State Contractors Board. Both agencies closed their initial investigations, but recently have sent inspectors or investigators to discuss the old allegations with them, say Edwards and Salinas.

Contact reporter Joan Whitely at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0268, and reporter Valerie Miller at vmiller@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5286.