Candle causes blaze; cat dies

Friday, June 2, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

A three-alarm fire that had flames shooting out of a high-rise apartment Thursday night was ruled accidental and was started by an unattended candle, Clark County Fire Department officials said.

The blaze started about 11 p.m. in a 10th-floor apartment in the Country Club at 850 E. Desert Inn Road. The fire was contained to one apartment, but there was water damage to other units with damages estimated at about $150,000, said Steve La-Sky, a fire department spokesman.

About 150 residents were evacuated down stairwells from the 12-floor west tower. One man was treated at the scene for exhaustion and a 75-year-old man was treated at Desert Springs Hospital for smoke inhalation, La-Sky said.

A cat in the apartment where the fire started apparently jumped from the balcony trying to escape the flames, fell 10 stories and died, La-Sky said.

The fire went to three alarms because of the potential danger posed by a high-rise apartment fire, La-Sky said.

archive