Two morning fires hit within minutes in North Las Vegas

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 11:43 a.m.

Two fires that broke out within minutes of each other in North Las Vegas this morning kept 55 firefighters from three departments busy for more than an hour.

No one was injured in either fire, which struck the Valley Baptist Church at 2944 Civic Center Drive at about 9:30 and a nearby vacant home at 2491 Webster St. a few minutes later.

Crews from the Clark County, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas fire departments responded to the two blazes, which caused heavy smoke to hang over the city.

The church fire, reported by the church's caretaker, broke out in the east portion of the building in the kitchen/classrooms area, according to Jim Stubler, deputy chief of the North Las Vegas Fire Department.

Stubler said the old church was not equipped with sprinklers. Older buildings are not required to have sprinklers but Stubler said they would have helped immeasurably.

"If they had had sprinklers, we wouldn't be here fighting this fire," he said.

Although both fires were extinguished, there were no damage estimates available.

Stubler did say, though, that the home fire on Webster was suspicious.