Las Vegas Fire & Rescue battle an apartment building fire in the 6500 block of West Charleston on Sept. 11, 2021.
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 | 9:54 p.m.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue battled an apartment blaze this afternoon that displaced nearly two dozen people and damaged several units, a spokesman said.
Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said crews responded to the two-alarm fire in the 6500 block of West Charleston at about 1:20 p.m. Firefighters had the fire under control by about 2:45 p.m., Syzmanski said. The Clark County Fire Department assisted.
Syzmanski said 20 people were displaced by the fire. Three units in the two-story, eight-unit building had extensive damage and another sustained heavy damage, and the other four units had minor damage from smoke or water. He said the damage was estimated at about $350,000 total.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Szymanski said.
“Wind wasn’t a real big factor but it was pushing it (the fire),” Syzmanski said. “What happened was it got into the attic. And when it gets in the attic it just spreads … it acts like a wind tunnel.”
Xavier Hernandez, 17, lives adjacent to the building that was on fire, and said his mom’s car was damaged because it was parked in front of the unit the fire started in. Hernandez said he’s fortunate the fire didn’t spread to other buildings in the complex.
Neighbors from nearby buildings said the flames were so intense they could feel the heat from their units.
“Honestly, I started panicking because I thought these trees were going to catch on fire,” Hernandez said. “The flames were huge. I thought it was going to pass on and everything.”
Elek Mitchell said he lives in one of the upper-level units damaged by the fire with his fiance, Anna Rojas, and her two sons, Andrew, 9, and Adrian, 13. The family was among the dozens in the complex watching crews battle the fire.
Mitchell said the family knew something was wrong when smoke started coming through the vents and they quickly got to safety. The family said everybody made it out safely, except for their cat, which was unaccounted for.
“All our credit cards and debit cards were in there, and everything,” Mitchell said.
Szymanski said the American Red Cross is assisting the residents displaced by the fire.
