Apartment fire kills four

Tuesday, March 7, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

A two-alarm apartment blaze this morning took the lives of three children and an apparently disabled man in a complex that residents say has been riddled with fires over the last seven years.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said firefighters arrived at 7 a.m. to find a fully involved building in the Cedar Springs Apartments, 1750 E. Karen Ave. Flames shot from the roof of the building, sending a plume of black smoke into the sky during the morning commute.

The bodies of the children -- a 2-year-old boy and girls ages 4 and 5 -- were discovered at 7:40 a.m. by firefighters who braved the flames to reach them, Leinbach said. Shortly after 8 a.m., the body of a man in another apartment was discovered. Also in the apartment was a wheelchair, leading fire officials to believe that the man was disabled.

The children's mother was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. No other residents were hurt in the fire.

Leinbach said this was the largest loss of life in a fire in the Clark County Fire Department's jurisdiction since the 1981 Las Vegas Hilton fire which killed eight. The last loss of life in a fire in the county department's jurisdiction was on Feb. 9, 1999, when three children -- also ages 2, 4 and 5 -- were killed in a mobile home fire.

Four children died in two separate fires in Clark County in 1998.

Fifteen firetrucks and 40 to 50 firefighters from both Clark County and Las Vegas Fire Departments battled the blaze for just under an hour before bringing the fire under control.

The cause of the fire, which gutted the building, was under investigation today. Fire department officials said the building was a total loss.

"The apartment looked like a bomb had hit it," Leinbach said.

The three children died in a two-bedroom upstairs unit.

Alan O'Neal, who lives in a building next door that was evacuated, said he thought he smelled food cooking early this morning when he got home from his job as a cafeteria worker at University Medical Center.

"Later," he said, "I started smelling smoke, and someone was outside yelling. I just grabbed my three children, woke my girlfriend and we got out."

Cedar Springs Apartments resident Marla Mouritsen said she was awakened by a woman running through the complex yelling for help.

"I got her some coffee, and all she could say was 'three babies, three babies,' " she said.

Mouritsen said she asked the woman if she could call someone to help, and the woman said all of her family was in Salt Lake City.

"She has lived in this complex a long time," Mouritsen said. "This is very sad."

Mouritsen, who has lived in the two-story wood-framed apartments for 12 years, said at least six of the buildings have had fires in the last seven years.

"These are very old buildings, probably built in the early 1970s," Mouritsen said. "There are no fire breaks, so once a fire starts, it spreads real fast."

"These buildings are old," about 30 years old, Leinbach agreed, and said there have been a number of fires in the complex in that time, but he could not confirm the frequency of fires. Other residents said they recalled many fires at the complex.

Carolyn Levering, of the Clark County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said eight units were affected by the blaze, and her organization has been asked to help find shelter for at least 30 people.

After hearing the news this morning during a Clark County Commission meeting, Commissioner Myrna Williams called for a moment of silence to honor the victims.

Earlier today a fire at The Charleston Woods Apartments, 2900 E. Charleston Blvd. near Fremont Street, gutted a unit, displaced 20 residents and caused $30,000 damage, the Las Vegas Fire Department said.

Four victims were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and one was taken to University Medical Center with trauma.

The cause of the fire, which was reported about 1:45 a.m., is under investigation.

Another fire at the Woodridge Villa Apartments, 1591 Chartered Circle, near Owens and Eastern avenues, was reported about 9:15 a.m. today. It was limited to an apartment bathroom, and no injuries were reported.

Combined, the fires displaced at least 50 people, whom the Red Cross will help today.

"We have been real busy," Levering said at the Cedar Springs Apartments. "This is our fourth multi-family incident in the last three weeks.

"A lot of apartment managers called saying that they have available units. We will put those who will be returning to their apartments in the next few days in hotels."

County fire investigators also have found that a blaze Friday that displaced 18 people from the Las Brisas Apartments, 1000 Dumont Blvd., was caused by an improperly installed gas fireplace. The fire, which started in a downstairs apartment, caused $2 million in damage.

Ed Koch is a reporter for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4090 or by e-mail at koch@lasvegassun.com.