Fires at 2 vacant Las Vegas homes cause extensive damage

By Pashtana Usufzy

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015 | 11:17 p.m.

Two fires at vacant residences Tuesday in the Las Vegas Valley caused extensive damage and are believed to have been started by homeless people staying in the buildings, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials said.

No injuries were reported in either fire.

Fire crews received reports just after 7:20 p.m. of a fire at 1820 Lewis Ave., near Charleston Boulevard and Eastern Avenue, Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The large, one-story apartment building sustained extensive damage after a fire broke out, taking a heavy toll on the rear of the home facing an alley, he said.

The fire was under control within 30 minutes of firefighters arriving on scene, he said.

Crews have been called to the building, which is boarded up, at least three times due to fires, making it hard to determine where this fire originated or how much damage occurred in this incident, Szymanski said.

The last reported fire at the home happened last week, he said.

Homeless individuals who were staying in the residence had to be kept from going back into the apartment building to retrieve items as crews fought Tuesday's fire, he said.

The fire was the second vacant-building blaze Las Vegas fire crews were called to Tuesday.

A one-story house in the 3800 block of Melody Lane, located near Rancho and Vegas drives, also sustained heavy damage in a morning fire, Szymanski said.

Crews were called to the scene about 6:25 a.m. and took about 15 minutes to get the flames under control once on scene, he said.

The home was boarded up, but homeless people were going in and out of the residence and there was graffiti inside, he said.

The fire took a couple of hours to clear due to hotspots and debris within the home, Szymanski said.

The official causes of both fires are under investigation.