6 dead after fire breaks out at downtown Las Vegas motel, fire officials say

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Six people died and 13 others were injured after a fire broke out early Saturday in a downtown motel in Las Vegas, officials said.

According to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski, the fire at the Alpine Motel Apartments was contained to one unit and appears to be accidental, KTNV reported. Damage is estimated at $475,000, the television station reported.

At least 30 residents were displaced from their homes because of the blaze, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Ten people were taken to area hospitals by ambulance and three others went on their own, the newspaper reported.

Szymanski said five of the 13 injured people were in critical condition, the Review-Journal reported. One of the victims in critical condition is a pregnant woman, the newspaper reported. Two cats and a dog perished in the fire, Szymanski told reporters.

The pregnant woman was one of several people who tried to escape by jumping out of the building, KVVU reported.

Firefighters were called to the three-story, 41-unit apartment complex at 4:13 a.m., the television station reported.

The cause of the fire appears to have originated in the area of a stove from one of the units on the first floor, Szymanski said. There was no evidence of criminal activity, Szymanski told reporters.

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