Construction building fires not uncommon, nonprofit says about Las Vegas apartment fire

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Fire crews worked for hours to put out a massive fire on Maule Ave. near the 215 Beltway on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Jonathan Hart with the National Fire Protection Association said fires like these aren’t uncommon.

“We see a significant number that happens in buildings under construction,” Hart said. “When they’re under construction, they’re at a greater risk inherently for fire and fire to spread.”

The NFPA keeps data on fires around the country. Hart said recently, a similar fire was deadly.

“Just last month, there was a fire in Charlotte, North Carolina where two construction workers lost their lives.”

Here in Las Vegas, one firefighter was injured and taken to the hospital but has been released. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“Without seeing the specific I don’t know if this could have been prevented,” Hart said.

When the investigation is done, NFPA will analyze the data.

“Was it unique? Was it something we already knew was a risk or is it something that’s new that we need to inform the rest of the world?” Hart said.

Hart said many people think about the financial hit that the owner and the developer take when fires like this happen, but it goes a lot deeper than that.

“There’s also businesses in that area that were inaccessible while the fire was being responded to,” Hart said. “The construction workers don’t have a job to return to today. The tax money that went to the response, the water usage. The loss of the building might have a dollar amount, but all these other things have a higher loss than is typically realized.”

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