Holiday revelry sparks blazes

Monday, July 7, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

Legal and illegal fireworks played a role in several fires that damaged several homes across the Las Vegas Valley during the three-day Fourth of July weekend, fire officials said. Thirteen adults and four children were displaced from their homes.

There were no serious injuries reported, spokesmen for the Las Vegas and Clark County fire departments said Sunday.

The blaze that caused the most damage ignited a wood-shake shingle roof at a group care home where four senior citizens lived at 1401 Comstock Drive near Washington Avenue and Rancho Drive about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, Las Vegas Fire Dept. spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damage. The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted the residents. They were to be taken to other care homes, he said.

The owner of the home was not sure if he would rebuild the house, Szymanski said.

Although the home had a sprinkler system, the blazing roof collapsed, leaving the four residents homeless, Szymanski said.

Fire investigators think illegal fireworks sparked the flames that caused the roof of the one-story home to collapse, Szymanski said. Investigators found a driveway across from the house littered with burned-out illegal fireworks. No arrests have been made, and the investigation was continuing, he said.

About 9 p.m. on Saturday firefighters battled a blaze in a one-story house at 1408 Margaret Ave., near Bonanza Road and Maryland Parkway, Szymanski said.

Fire investigators did not find evidence of fireworks, but an estimated $20,000 in damages to the home occurred, Szymanski said. The rear of the three-bedroom home was gutted and the Red Cross assisted an adult and four children, 18 months to 12 years old, after the blaze.

A woman at home said she noticed smoke coming from the rear of the house as she watched TV with two of her small children. She used a cell phone to dial 911 and no one was injured.

Safe-N-Sane fireworks were responsible for igniting a fire in a garage of a northwest Las Vegas home about 5:30 p.m. Friday, Szymanski said.

Firefighters said children were setting off fireworks in the street when one spun out of control and into the garage of a one-story wood frame house, setting a cardboard box on fire. Damage was estimated at $750 and there were no injuries, Szymanski said.

Less than half an hour later fireworks ignited a fire that spread to two houses in the 2300 block of Mallard Street near West Lake Mead and Jones boulevards, Szymanski said. When firefighters arrived, the sides of two homes were in flames, so a second alarm was called. The second alarm was canceled once the fire was out, he said.

Fire investigators said that a legal firework thrown from an apartment complex behind the two houses set dry grass on fire, causing an estimated $25,000 to both homes.

The Red Cross assisted about eight people from the two houses, and there were no injuries, Szymanski said.

Improperly discarded fireworks ignited a blaze at a Summerlin home that caused one resident to suffer slight smoke inhalation and an estimated $2,500 in damages, Szymanski said.

Firefighters arrived at 10664 Royal Pines Ave., near Far Hills and the Las Vegas Beltway about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Szymanski said. The accidental fire was started by fireworks in a plastic trash can that ignited a natural gas meter on the side of a two-story wood frame house.

There was no damage to the inside of the home and one resident was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and released, Szymanski said.

"No significant injuries have been reported in Clark County's jurisdiction," Clark County Fire Dept. spokesman Bob Leinbach said Sunday.