Apartment fires cause $45,000 damage, ruled accidental

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015 | 1:44 p.m.

A pair of overnight apartment fires caused a combined $45,000 damage, but nobody was injured in either blaze, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue officials said.

Both fires were ruled accidental, officials said.

The first fire was reported about 10:20 p.m. Saturday in a duplex at 1009 Cunningham Drive, in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

Smoke and flames were coming from the front window of an apartment in a single-story, wood-frame duplex, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Nobody was home, and the fire was put out within a few minutes, he said.

A dog was overcome by smoke, but firefighters rescued the animal and it survived, Szymanski said.

The fire started near a living room sofa, but the cause could not be determined, Szymanski said. Damage was estimated at $20,000.

Three adults were displaced by the fire, Szymanski said.

The second fire was reported shortly after 1 a.m. today in a ground-floor apartment in two-story, four-unit building at 617 Triest Court, in the area of Bonanza Road and Lamb Boulevard.

The fire was confined to a bedroom where it started, Szymanski said. Damage was estimated at $25,000.

Two adults and a child were displaced and received assistance from the American Red Cross, Szymanski said.

One of the adults told fire investigators that smoke started coming from the top of a dresser where there was an electric power strip with several items plugged into it, Szymanski said. Investigators believe the fire was electrical and started at the power strip, he said.