Inspections of rental units spurred by fatal Vegas fire done

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Code enforcement inspections of more than 30 aging multi-unit and extended-stay properties in Las Vegas, spurred by the city’s deadliest residential fire in history, has been completed.

City officials this week released the findings of the first year of the “Hotel-Motel Rental Inspection Program,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Inspectors looked at 33 buildings that were converted from motels or hotels in downtown between 1931 and 1981. Altogether, that amounted to 2,105 residential units.

Seth Floyd, Las Vegas’ director of community development, says inspectors found “missing or broken” smoke detectors at one in six units.

The program was approved by the Las Vegas City Council in April 2021. It calls for these inspection visits at least once a year for properties built before 1981 and that have four or more units. Safety inspections can increase if violations are discovered.

It was prompted by the deaths of six people in a pre-dawn fire in December 2019 at the Alpine Motel Apartments. More than a dozen were injured.

Some residents reported having used ovens for heat and climbing out of second- and third-story windows to escape smoke and flames. Several perished trying to escape through locked exit doors.

The property owner faces criminal charges and has a preliminary hearing later this month.