Resident, firefighter injured in condo fire

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

A pre-dawn, two-alarm fire severely damaged a two-story condominium near UNLV and sent two people, including a firefighter, to a local hospital.

This morning's blaze at 4338 Caliente St., off Rochelle Avenue and Maryland Parkway, began shortly after 4 a.m., Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

The woman who lived in the scorched condo told firefighters that she had left Christmas candles burning prior to the fire, but fire officials "cannot say at this time that is what caused the fire," Leinbach said.

The woman also told firefighters she jumped from the building to escape the fire. She was taken to University Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation and injuries possibly caused by her leap from the building, Leinbach said.

Leinbach refused to release the woman's name or any other additional information about her, citing new federal privacy laws regarding medical information.

The Clark County Assessors office records show the condo is owned by a Lieko Piazza. It could not be immediately confirmed that was the injured person. A UMC spokeswoman said there was no one at the hospital under that name as a patient as of this morning.

A Las Vegas firefighter who fell off a ladder while battling the blaze also went to UMC with a minor ankle injury and was expected to be treated and released, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Szymanski declined to release the firefighter's name citing new federal privacy laws.

Leinbach said a dollar loss estimate for the fire, smoke and water damage was not available this morning. Investigators arrived at the condos at 7:30 a.m. today to start determining the cause of the fire and exactly where it started.

Forty-five city and county firefighters from 14 units battled the blaze in close quarters. Apartments and condos in the area are built close together to cater to the college crowd from the nearby University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"It was a challenge," Leinbach said of the tight quarters. "But the fire wall (in the building) worked real well so firefighters were able to contain it. They did an excellent job under the circumstances."

Neighbors battled the blaze before firefighters arrived.

"I heard what sounded like a voice outside and didn't initially see anything so I thought it was passers-by," said Steve Harris, who lives in a condo three units down.

"When I heard the voice again, I went outside and saw smoke and fire. A neighbor and I grabbed (garden) hoses and started fighting the fire the best we could until firefighters could get there."