Toll from candle fires mounts

Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

In the Clark County Fire Department's jurisdiction, residents might be better off cursing the darkness than lighting a candle.

Early today, one apartment was damaged by fire from a lighted candle, and investigators suspect a candle may have caused another pre-dawn blaze that sent one man to the hospital with a burn and smoke inhalation.

If a 4 a.m. fire at 2180 Pinetop Lane near Flamingo Road and Eastern Avenue turns out to have been started by a candle, it would be the third candle-caused blaze since Jan. 1 and the 114th since Jan. 1, 2000, fire department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

It also would bring the casualty toll from candle-started fires to five dead and 15 injured, including four deaths from a Jan. 1 blaze that killed a mother, father, son and a family friend.

An Aug. 16 candle-lit fire on Lamb Boulevard killed another person.

The dollar amount of damage caused by candle fires has reached $2 million since Jan. 1, 2000, Leinbach said, noting that the fire at Pinetop today caused about $100,000 in damage.

"This is not just a local problem, these type of fires are on the rise nationally," Leinbach said. "Candles are popular for a number of reasons including seasonal uses, religious uses and for decorations.

"That is the only reason we can see for the rise in these type of fires," Leinbach said, acknowledging that it is unusual for a 19th century mode of illumination to be causing such havoc in the 21st century.

Leinbach noted that while the trend nationwide has been for twice as many candle fires to occur in December than the rest of the year combined, locally they have been spread out, with several occurring during warm weather months.

The Pinetop apartment fire apparently started on or near a bed, where a man was reading a book. Leinbach said the power to the condominium had been shut off for lack of payment of the electric bill, leading investigators to believe he may have been reading by candlelight.

Fire investigators say the man was staying in the second-story unit of the condo that is owned by a friend of his.

Fire investigators said the man was a smoker, so they will need to question him about whether he was using a candle to read or fell asleep with a lighted cigarette.

Fire investigators were to question the man later today after combing the scene for clues. Leinbach said the department will utilize one of its Spanish interpreters because the man speaks little to no English.

Firefighters did not release the man's name. Leinbach said he was taken to the hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries."

Thirty-five firefighters from nine county units arrived to find fire and smoke pouring from the condo. They kept the fire from spreading beyond the unit, but the bottom-floor unit below the blaze suffered water damage. About four other units had suffered smoke damage but were inhabitable, Leinbach said.

Two families, including four to five people, were displaced. Their shelter needs were addressed by the Clark County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Leinbach said.

An hour before that blaze, an apartment at 5321 Del Gado Drive near Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard suffered $1,000 in damage from a fire started by a candle, Leinbach said. There were no injuries.

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old woman was in custody this morning charged with an arson fire Wednesday that caused $150,000 in damage and sent one man to a hospital, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue said.

Jennifer Darlene Nolan was charged with one count of first degree arson in a blaze at at triplex at 2314 Pardee Place near Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway. She is being held in the Clark County Detention Center.

City fire investigators declined to release a motive or details on how the fire was set.

The name of the injured man was not released. The victim was taken to University Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The house that had been converted into three apartments suffered heavy fire damage, officials said, noting its four other adult occupants were provided with shelter by the American Red Cross.