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YOU ASK. WE INVESTIGATE. Mom says apartment has no smoke detectors

Posted at 8:42 PM, Oct 28, 2016
and last updated 2019-04-12 20:33:32-04
A valley mom is worried about her safety and the safety of her children because her apartment does not have smoke detectors.
 
"It's kinda overwhelming," said Lavondra Parks.
 
Parks told 13 Action News the situation only got scarier and more overwhelming last week at her apartment near Lake Mead and Nellis boulevards.
 
"I was boiling some noodles to make a noodle soup," she said. "I see black specks like something is burning and I notice that it's the stove."
 
Parks said she noticed the wiring under her stovetop was on fire.
 
"The fact that I don't have smoke detectors, that made it extra scary because I have kids that live here," said Parks, who has three daughters.
 
Still, even after a fire in her apartment, she said her landlord would not install a smoke alarm.
 
"It angers me, it frustrates me that a person can even be able to do this," Parks said. "My common sense tells me that this isn't legal. I know this isn't right."
 
According to Nevada code, a landlord must provide smoke alarms in any building with at least three separate units.
 
13 Action News went to address listed for the apartment manager, but no one answered the door. 
 
When we called him, he said he would give her a smoke alarm right away.
 
If you have three or more units in your building and no smoke detector, call your local fire department. 
 
We called them in this case, and they said they would also make sure Parks gets her smoke alarm.