Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Group home upgrades came too late to save pair

A plumber went to an assisted living home in eastern Las Vegas to install a fire sprinkler system Saturday, but it was too late, a fire department spokesman said.

The home caught fire that afternoon and killed two residents, an 86-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man.

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire, which apparently started in the living room where the man was found. They haven't ruled out careless smoking as the cause, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The names of the two victims haven't yet been released.

The sprinkler installation was part of a series of required upgrades being conducted at the home at 3036 Holly Hill Ave., near St. Louis Avenue and McLeod Street, which changed owners, fire officials said.

"We couldn't make the people put a sprinkler system in unless it changed owners," Szymanski said.

Jim DiFiore, Las Vegas business licensing manager, said Tommy Tamayo is the former holder of the home's Las Vegas business license.

Irma Rafael holds the current temporary license.

The home was called the Holly Hill group home under Rafael's ownership and Best Group Care under Tamayo's, county records show.

Group homes are inspected by fire officials once a year. Fire inspectors logged one violation under the previous owner, a minor infraction regarding an extension cord, Szymanski said.

Required upgrades included emergency lighting, lighted exit signs, a fire notification alarm system to alert occupants of a fire and an automatic sprinkler system.

Tamayo wanted six months to do the upgrades, but fire inspectors gave him 90 days to bring the home up to code, Szymanski said.

"We told (the owner) what needed to be done and (the owner) got started right away," he said.

Fire inspectors set an April 27 deadline and it appeared they upgrades were being made on schedule, officials said. Tamayo had requested permits for the installation of the fire alarm and sprinkler systems.

The fire alarm had been installed and the sprinkler system was scheduled to be installed Saturday, Szymanski said.

The plumber and several neighbors tried to rescue the two occupants, but they told firefighters the smoke was too thick and the heat was too intense for them to enter.

The fire department received a call at 2:12 p.m. that the home was on fire. The first fire engine arrived at 2:17 p.m. and found thick black smoke coming from the home, Szymanski said.

Firefighters found the woman on the floor of a bedroom and the man in the living room, Szymanski said.

Fire investigators believe the blaze started in the living room, at or near a sofa where the man was found.

The fire burned through a heat register in the living room ceiling and spread to the attic.

The amount of damage is estimated at $145,000.

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