Sprinklers douse fire at high school

By Mary Manning

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | 9:04 a.m.

For at least the third time in less than a week, sprinklers stopped flames -- today in a local high school's theater.

Neighbors in the northwestern Las Vegas Valley heard alarm bells as electronic alarms alerted the Las Vegas Fire Department about 5:21 a.m., fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

When firefighters arrived at Palo Verde High School, 333 S. Pavilion Center Blvd., maintenance workers unlocked the building and the fire was found behind a stage in the school's theater where props and costumes are stored, Szymanski said. Automatic sprinklers had been triggered and extinguished the fire, he said.

The fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage and appears to have started in electrical rope lighting strung behind the stage for dim lighting. The wiring appears to have started the fire in lockers containing costumes and other plastic props, creating thick smoke.

School opened on time and no students or staff were at the school when the fire broke out, Szymanski said.

Earlier this week, two small fires broke out in Las Vegas Strip resorts less than 12 hours apart.

Several people evacuated the Bellagio at about 5:50 a.m. Tuesday after fire broke out in a mattress in a hotel room on the 26th floor, said Scott Allison, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department. One man was taken to a local hospital and treated for burns on his lower arms, possibly caused by a lit cigarette, Allison said.

Another fire on the 14th floor of the Venetian started at about 9:50 p.m. Monday, Allison said. Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire, but believe it started near a pile of industrial-sized air filters. There were no injuries reported and no one was evacuated. In both cases, Allison said, sprinkler systems worked.