At least 34 people, including 9 children, displaced in Las Vegas apartment fire

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — An apartment fire in the south valley displaced at least 34 people, including at least nine children, Tuesday afternoon, according to the Red Cross.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue crews responded to reports of a fire at the Walker House Apartments at 2700 S. Valley View Blvd around 2:26 p.m. The first unit arrived on scene four minutes after the assignment was dispatched.

Upon arrival, crews from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue and Clark County Fire Department began assessing the situation and implementing containment measures.

Officials said a defensive strategy was initiated, and the call was subsequently upgraded to a second-alarm fire to ensure adequate resources were available.

The fire was contained to Building C, which, according to a Red Cross volunteer, houses 16 apartment units. The roof of the building collapsed in multiple locations, and the fire’s origin point was located at the center of the complex.

South Valley View Boulevard was blocked off for several hours as crews worked to extinguish the flames. LVMPD Traffic was on scene to assist with traffic control.

EN ESPAÑOL: Carreteras cerradas por incendio en complejo de apartamentos en el centro de Las Vegas

“The fire department said that it is pretty major damage, so it’s going to take a while for them to finish because the fire is still going on,” said Diane Orgill, a Red Cross volunteer on scene.

Multigenerational residents displaced

Orgill said the displaced residents represent a range of ages.

“It’s a little bit of everything — we have some little kids that are like 5, we have some adults that are in their 90s,” Orgill said.

Neighbor Jose Umana said the scale of the fire was immediately apparent.

“It’s a big complex — there have got to be a lot of families without homes right now,” Umana said.

Neighbors say the fire is not the first at the complex

At least one neighbor told FOX5 this was not the first fire at the Walker House Apartments, but said it was the largest they had seen.

“It happened before in a little bit right on the corner, one, but I think they got it so fast. But this is a big one — a lot of apartments burned. It’s scary, you never know,” said Umana.

Umana initially feared the fire had reached his own home.

“When he called, I thought it was my house too — I live so close — but then I noticed a lot of fire cars, and I had to go around,” he said.

There were no reported injuries. One person was transported for a separate medical emergency. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.