Fire routs patrons of tavern

Some barroom regulars got a surprise when they walked out of their local pub Tuesday night to find a fire ripping through an under-construction strip mall just a few feet away.

Just before 8:45 p.m. Tuesday Gary Davis and Todd Bredl walked out of Andy Capz Pub, 1631 N. Decatur Blvd., and noticed smoke coming from the building just to the north of the bar.

"We ran around the building that was on fire to make sure no one was in it and called 911," Davis said. "Then we ran back in the bar and told everyone there was a fire, but they didn't seem to care too much. Then we told them they'd better move their cars, and it cleared out pretty quick."

Las Vegas firefighters arrived at the burning strip mall about five minutes later, department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

"When they arrived the roof was fully involved with fire, and the captain in charge tried to cut off the fire as it ran along the wood mansard," Szymanski said. "He was able to do that, and because the building was brick, with the exception of the roof and the mansard, the fire was out shortly after that."

The L-shaped building is scheduled to house Decatur Automotive, Szymanski said.

A total of 10 units and 45 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire, which also sparked two small grass fires when the wind deposited embers at the Las Vegas Golf Club, 4300 W. Washington Ave.

The fire closed the intersection of Decatur and Valley Drive as well as both directions of travel on Decatur a block north of the intersection for more than an hour.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the damage estimate has not yet been released.

archive