Morning blaze destroys apartments

Keith Paul

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 11:09 a.m.

A fire early this morning raged through an apartment building, destroying the homes of about 15 people and forcing another 50 from nearby apartments.

The blaze started about 2 a.m. at Las Brisas Apartments in the 1000 block of Dumont Boulevard near Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road. The fire began in a ground-floor apartment and quickly spread throughout the three-story building, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Steve La-Sky said.

More than 80 county and Las Vegas firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze for about an hour before bringing it under control, he said. No one was injured in the fire, but a firefighter did fall through the floor of the third story.

"He landed on a couch on the second floor, and he got up, ran outside and ran back up the stairs to continue fighting the fire," La-Sky said. "He must have been one of our younger guys still filled with adrenaline."

Security guards and Metro Police officers helped evacuate neighboring apartment buildings. Power was cut to several other buildings, forcing about 50 people to find temporary housing, La-Sky said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is believed to be accidental. About $2 million in damage resulted.

Many of the residents were home and asleep at the time the fire started.

"There was a lot of fire and it was just whipping around," La-Sky said. "Everyone was very concerned. If this happened at noon, many people would be at work, but because of the time we knew most people would be home."