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Sen. Harry Reid senior apartments fail fire inspection

Posted at 1:54 PM, Mar 01, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-01 21:29:34-05

Contact 13 has been investigating reports of dirty conditions at the Sen. Harry Reid senior apartments near downtown Las Vegas for months and now serious safety violations have been uncovered.

13 Action News first reported the problems in Nov. 2017 after several residents and a whistleblower came forward with issues.

Recently a resident reported potential fire safety violations at the property located near Maryland Pwky., and Stewart to Contact 13.

Those concerns included broken sprinklers and the tipster questioned if the fire alarm system was in working order.

Contact 13 immediately alerted Las Vegas Fire and Rescue about the concerns. A fire inspector walked the entire facility with a maintenance supervisor and noted enough fire violations to "fail" the property.

Fire violations included:

  • An order to immediately repair or replace fire sprinkler system components for areas where leaks are present and place attic dry system back into service
  • Unsecured fire doors which are required to close and latch
  • Repair or replace emergency lighting that is no longer in service throughout the property
  • Repair of replace exit signs that are no longer operational throughout the property
  • The fire alarm system was showing multiple trouble signals along with a waterflow signal for the 3rd floor/west attic system
  • Smoke alarms that are greater than 10 years old throughout all units.

The fire inspector noted a fire protect contractor was on site to perform repairs to the fire sprinkler system as he was leaving.

The fire inspector says the facility will remain on a "Fire Watch" in accordance with the fire code until some of the repairs are complete.

Contact 13 has reached out to property management repeatedly about the issues. An office worker says the complex is waiting on a valve to get the sprinkler system back into working order.

Las Vegas code enforcement inspectors visited the property Thursday and did not note any serious violations but added they did not inspect individual units because the inquiry did not come from a specific resident.

However, management was given an advisory notice due to:

  • Dilapidated banners
  • Keep property free of trash and debris
  • They are addressing some tenant storage issues. 
  • They are voluntarily addressing the pigeon population. (Spikes, netting installed to address)
  • Regarding water heaters as new water heaters are being replaced, they are being brought up to current code standards.  If repairs are being done on units, straps are being installed
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