Fireworks spark few blazes in LV Valley

Jace Radke and Ed Koch

Thursday, July 5, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

Firefighters on Wednesday responded to more than three times the usual number of fire-related calls, including at least one fireworks-related injury.

Still, for a Fourth of July, things were relatively calm, officials said.

"It was probably the least busy Independence Day in the last five years," Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. "We had no building fires in the city that were attributed to fireworks. We just did not see as much activity."

The cities of Las Vegas and Henderson this morning had not yet compiled Wednesday's calls to fires and other emergencies.

The Clark County Fire Department was only slightly busier this year than last, as it responded to 413 calls, including for 69 fires, between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. today. During that period last year the CCFD responded to 381 calls, including 67 for fires.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said although Independence Day responses this year and last were three times greater than is normal for a two-day weekday period, the department received fewer calls when compared to previous years.

During a normal two-day period the CCFD responds to about 20 fires.

However, Leinbach said, the consequences of mishandling fireworks were just as significant, as a 15-year-old boy burned his hand when a package of fireworks went off in his pocket in northeast Las Vegas about 12:30 p.m.

The boy is believed to have put a small box of "poppers," small paper-wrapped fireworks that make a small pop when they are thrown to the ground, in a pocket of his pants. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he was treated for second-degree burns on his hand and forearm.

A downtown wedding chapel that has been marrying couples for 40 years had to be evacuated at 4:30 p.m. when a fire started on the outside of the building, Szymanski said.

A group waiting for a service outside the Silver Bell Wedding Chapel, 607 Las Vegas Blvd. South, saw the flames and told those inside the chapel to get out, Szymanski said.

No one was injured, but the fire caused $125,000 in damages. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Szymanski said.

The Henderson Fire Department responded to a brush fire at Pabco Road near Sunset Road at 10:29 p.m. Wednesday. Fire officials had no details available for release this morning, including whether the blaze was related to fireworks.

At 3:17 a.m. today, a fire broke out in a vacant double-wide mobile home at 830 N. Lamb Boulevard, Szymanski said. It appeared homeless people had been staying in the unit, which was gutted, he said, noting that no dollar loss was immediately available and the cause is under investigation.

At 3:21 today, the Clark County Fire Department responded to a mobile home blaze on E. Desert Inn Road. Details were not immediately available, Leinbach said.

Las Vegas firefighters responded to two minor house fires Wednesday morning that caused a combined $190,000 in damages.

About 3:30 a.m. a fire broke out in a home near Rancho and Alta drives, Szymanski said. Investigators say that the fire probably originated in a room that housed a heater and a swimming pool pump. No one was hurt in the fire, and damage was estimated at $100,000.

Firefighters responded to a blaze in the garage of a home near Durango Drive and Alexander Road at 11:30 a.m. Two vans and three motorcycles in the garage were destroyed by the fire that caused $90,000 in damages. No one was hurt, and the cause is under investigation, fire officials said.