2-alarm fire damages 14 condominiums

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Jace Radke

Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

A plumber's torch started a two-alarm fire late Tuesday morning damaging 14 condominiums near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street.

The fire started at the Casa de Pedro condominium complex, 711 E. Twain Ave., in a ground-floor condo at about 11:45 a.m., complex manager Dan Miller said.

"We had a plumber in there doing what should have been a real simple job, and somehow his torch started the fire," Miller said.

The plumber is believed to have been working on some pipes when the torch lit some insulation and spread to the roof of the building that houses 14 of the 41 units at the complex, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

There were no injuries in the blaze, but most of the second-floor condos were destroyed in the fire and first-story residences suffered smoke and water damage, Leinbach said.

The fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damage, and left 14 families looking for temporary shelter with help from the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

"I'm a soldier in the Salvation Army so we had pretty quick response from there, and we're making sure that these people are being taken care of," Miller said.