Firefighters save neighboring structures from building blaze

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004 | 11:01 a.m.

Fire investigators this morning were sifting through the ashes of an unfinished retail building destroyed by a wind-whipped three-alarm fire Tuesday night.

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue crews received a call about heavy smoke and flames at 2187 N. Decatur Blvd. at 9:28 p.m., Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Firefighters found flames licking the roof of a furniture shop crammed with wooden items and futon cushions south of the building ablaze, Szymanski said.

"If the fire had spread to the furniture store, it could have been disastrous," he said.

North winds between 15 and 20 miles per hour with 25 mph gusts prompted the three-alarm response as neighboring ranch homes were less than 50 feet from the blaze, Szymanski said.

Investigators this morning did not know what caused the fire, which took half an hour for 100 firefighters and 30 pumpers, tankers and rescue units to control, Szymanski said.

No one was injured and the damage was relatively low, $100,000, thanks to firefighters' keeping the fire from spreading to the other structures nearby.

"We'll be here all night, pouring water on it," Szymanski said late Thursday. Decatur Boulevard between Lake Mead Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road was closed to traffic.

By the end of last month, Las Vegas fire crews had responded to 2,519 such fires, according to statistics provided by the department. At that rate, the department is poised to fall within a few dozen of the 2,880 it reported in 2003.

The total monetary value of property lost in local fires will not be available until investigators compile their annual report late next week, Szymanski said.

At Tuesday night's fire, a neighbor named Denise, who declined to give her last name, said the flames had flared toward the back of the building.

"The fire was small, then all of a sudden it sent flames shooting up into the air," she said.

Sylvia Gleason, who lives next door to the building that caught fire, said she was not worried when the fire broke out because "it looked like it was under control."

Her house, less than 50 feet from the flaming building, was unscathed despite the strong winds.

"Everything on our property is fine, it didn't affect us at all," Gleason said about 10:45 p.m. While the fire was blazing, Gleason said she saw a lot of flames coming from the building.

Ernie Fuchs, another neighbor, said, "I heard it was supposed to be a shopping mall. I hope they saved the strip mall next to it."

"It's been under construction for months," Fuchs said. "At least nobody was hurt."

The building had been covered with plywood before the fire, he said.

A sign placed on the property by the Clark County Air Quality Division to report excessive dust said that Kamran Realty managed the building. Gumfort was listed as the general contractor.

No record of the building's owner was available through the Clark County Assessor's office, as the owner may not have had the building appraised, a spokeswoman for the assessor's office said this morning.

Neither company could be reached for comment this morning.