An official enters the Alpine Motel Apartments where a fire killed 6 people last Saturday, Monday, Dec. 23, 2019.
Published Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019 | 11:15 a.m.
Updated Monday, Dec. 23, 2019 | 8:15 p.m.
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There were no active code enforcement investigations at the time of a blaze Saturday that killed six people and injured 13 others at a downtown Las Vegas apartment building, but city officials said authorities were probing allegations of negligent living conditions.
Though the building has had previous code violations identified via complaints and yearly inspections, each had been resolved within days and the cases closed, Las Vegas Fire Marshal Robert Nolan said this morning.
Metro Police crime scene investigators, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue personnel and code enforcers were seen gathered Sunday afternoon and again this morning at the Alpine Motel Apartments, 213 N. Ninth Street. A larger CSI vehicle was parked out front, and a command center was set up in the parking lot.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said Saturday that residents reported having no heat and resorted to using stoves for warmth. The fire was believed to have originated near a stove on the first floor of the three-story building, he said.
Nolan said the building did not have a central heating system, but individual units served as air conditioners and heaters. Each of the units will be tested to see if they work, he said.
Nevada law requires landlords to provide heat, but it also leaves it up to residents to notify the landlord of maintenance issues.
Investigators were going through each room, combing through evidence to try to determine what “mechanisms” may have contributed to the fire and smoke spreading.
The building, built in 1971, is owned by Las Vegas Dragon Hotel, a domestic limited-liability company registered to Adolfo Orozco, according to Clark County property and Nevada business records.
Malinda Mier, who identified herself as the building’s co-owner, said she wasn’t aware of any issues with heating and that the building was up to code. Inspectors checked it about five or six months ago, she said.
“We have code enforcement and the health department come out, and everything that needs to be fixed gets fixed in a timely manner,” Mier told Las Vegas TV station 13 Action News.
Mier said she was “saddened by the loss of life” and couldn’t believe the fire damage she saw.
Las Vegas Dragon Hotel LLC owns three more traditional motels in the valley, property records show. They are the Economy Motel, 1605 Fremont St., Casa Blanca Hotel, 2401 Las Vegas Blvd. North, and the Starlite Motel, 1873 Las Vegas Blvd. North in North Las Vegas.
Citing an open investigation, Las Vegas officials declined to release records relating to previous code violations at Alpine Motel Apartments and the Economy Motel.
The fire, reported shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday, was contained to a single unit, but heavy smoke spread throughout the building.
Szymanski said firefighters arrived to find residents jumping from windows.
Szymanski said three people were found dead in the building and three outside after the fire was extinguished. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone died after falling or jumping from windows.
It was the deadliest residential fire in Las Vegas history, officials said.
Of the 13 people injured, five were hospitalized in critical condition Saturday including a pregnant woman who reportedly fell while trying to escape the building down a rope of bed sheets. Most suffered from smoke inhalation but some also had fractures, Szymanski said.
The Clark County Coroner's Office hadn't released the names of the fatal victims by end of business hours Monday. One of the six victims died at University Medical Center, where five people total were taken, a hospital spokeswoman said. One patient remained in critical condition Monday, another in "fair condition," and at least one other had been released.
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center was treating three patients, all of whom were either in fair or stable condition, a hospital spokesman said. It wasn't clear how many people were taken there, or where the rest of the injured were treated.
Several residents reported that the fire alarm didn’t sound, even though it was pulled. Szymanski said. Firefighters reported hearing smoke alarms, but not the fire alarm.
Nolan said investigators would be testing the alarm system forensically.
The last time the Fire Marshal’s Office had an issue with the building, in 2017, it was over the fire alarm system not transmitting to a third-party monitor, he said. The issue was fixed by the following month, he said.
The blaze, which caused about $475,000 in damage, left about 70 residents without a home.
Thirty-nine residents had sought help from the Southern Nevada chapter of the American Red Cross, officials said Sunday.
A family assistance center was scheduled to open at 9 a.m. today at the city’s Dula Gymnasium, 441 E. Bonanza Road in downtown Las Vegas. It will be staffed by the American Red Cross, Clark County Social Services, city personnel, as well as other agencies until 4 p.m. and will provide survivor assistance, including housing, trauma intervention and animal control services.
Officials will assess if they need to open the center additional dates.
Community members wishing to help were asked to donate to the Community Healing Fund. Donations can be earmarked for the “Alpine Family Assistance Center” section on the group’s website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
