Officials contain fire in vacant motel near downtown

By Kailyn Brown

Published Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 | 10:49 a.m.

Updated Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 | 12:09 p.m.

Crews from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue contained a fire inside a vacant motel near downtown within 30 minutes this morning, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

They responded to the blaze about 10:30 a.m. at the 1500 block of South Third Street near East Utah Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, fire spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Smoke and flames were coming from the building, but no injuries were reported. Szymanski said investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

The department responded to another fire at this same building about a year ago, where squatters were reported to had been getting inside, he said.

Szymanski said that squatters don’t start fires intentionally and that they are usually just trying to stay warm. He said that they take care of the places they are staying as if it were their own home.

Roads in the area were blocked off and surrounding buildings evacuated, Szymanski said.