Reilly calls county’s fire investigation ‘horrible’

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Clark County fire investigators' probe into the AeroTech explosion was handled so poorly, the district attorney's office wouldn't have had a case to consider without the state's involvement, officials said Monday.

County Manager Thom Reilly has given Fire Chief Earl Greene 45 days to submit a recommendation on how to improve his investigations team.

"They did a horrible job," Reilly said Monday. "If we didn't have support from the fire marshal's office, we wouldn't have had enough information to forward to the DA for criminal charges."

Reilly commissioned the state fire marshal's office to investigate the AeroTech blaze and scrutinize the Clark County Fire Department's handling of the three-alarm fire in October 2001.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said his office is reviewing evidence collected by the fire marshal and plans to interview several witnesses.

The county contends AeroTech was negligent, violating multiple safety procedures. Reilly said the fire marshal's report shows the company was culpable for the fire that killed one worker.

But AeroTech has also filed a lawsuit against Clark County.

Cole Wist, an attorney representing AeroTech, said county investigators trespassed on AeroTech property and mishandled evidence.

"They entered AeroTech's business space, came in on numerous occasions and have not told us what they took," Wist said Monday. "That's a violation of our constitutional rights."

Greene said there are questions about whether investigators entered the building after the fire department "released" the facility back to AeroTech and the property owner. There are also questions about whether evidence at the scene was "properly secured."

Greene said his investigative team is "bone thin," but declined to elaborate on how many investigators are active. The crew is older and medical problems have kept several off the job.

Commissioner Myrna Williams said during the budget cycle, the board has had to take into consideration the valley's growth and the county's plan to build one fire station each year for the next decade.

"We need inspectors and investigators," said Williams, who oversees the district in which the AeroTech fire occurred. "We also need to assure the public that there will be firefighters in the new stations near their homes. It's always push and pull."

The department is recruiting more investigators and also has plans to implement a standard operating procedure for the investigators, a document that didn't exist at the time of the AeroTech fire.