Probe: Fire was intentionally set

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

Fire officials asked anyone with information about the Firenze fire to call CrimeStoppers at 385-5555.

Federal and Clark County authorities have determined that last Thursday's massive fire at the Firenze apartments was "set by human hands" and they now are trying to find whoever was responsible.

County Fire Chief Earl Greene said Tuesday that officials have evidence that one or more people ignited the fire that sent flames racing through the 349 apartments at Russell Road and Boulder Highway on Sept. 4.

It took 180 firefighters six hours to contain the blaze. It was one of the largest fires in Clark County history and caused an estimated $10 million to $15 million in damage. Ovation Development and the Molasky Group of Companies, the complex builders, said in a statement they would rebuild at the site. "We are deeply saddened, angered and frustrated by the events at the Firenze apartments on Sept. 4, 2003," Jim Hernquist, president of Ovation, said in a statement. The companies, he said, "have never experienced anything like this in our history." "It is our intention to rebuild the Firenze apartments, put our contractors back to work and continue our dedication of efforts and resources to this neighborhood," the statement said. A team of 19 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives experts and county investigators took two days to conclude the f ire was intentionally set. The federal team is leaving Las Vegas today.

Officials are waiting for the results of a chemical analysis of the accelerants detected in the fire, which could be gasoline or other substances. Those results are expected from the ATF lab in northern California as soon as Friday.

"We're going to look under every rock," Greene said after a news conference where he announced that the county arson detection dog, Wren, had alerted investigators to the presence of flammable materials in the ashes of the apartments.

Greene would not specify how many suspicious spots the 5-year-old black Labrador retriever sniffed out on Monday.

"Wren indicated several spots that have to be confirmed by the lab," said Philip Horbert, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms National Response Team. "We know it was a fire set by human hands, but that's all we know."

ATF agents interviewed 120 witnesses in two days and reviewed videotapes from television stations and people who offered personal tapes, Greene said.

"We have quite a few leads," Greene said. "We feel real confident with the evidence we have."

Officials would not indicate how many people they might be looking for to question them about the fire.

"We heard there was, maybe, a homeless person around," Horbert said.

Anyone convicted of intentionally setting the Firenze fire could face federal and state charges, Horbert said. An arson conviction would carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each count under federal guidelines, he said.

It's not easy to prove arson, however, Greene said. He said that only roughly one in 10 such blazes are solved.

A $6.2 million fire in January at condos under construction at Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard was intentionally set and authorities have yet to arrest anyone in connection with that fire.

It was the latest of a dozen construction site blazes in Las Vegas since 1999 that were intentionally set.

Asked about the possibility that an eco-terrorist group started last week's fire, Greene would not rule that out.

"We're going to take a look at anything and everything," he said.

Eco-terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for fires at expensive condos in Vail, Colo., and at other sites throughout the West.

No one has called to claim responsibility for Thursday's fire, however, Greene said.

Fire investigators had some luck in the investigation, Horbert said.

"A lot of people were home and they indicated where the fire might have started," he said. "After that, it was a matter of digging through the debris."