An old storage structure on the corner of Alma Ave. and Jones St. in Overton burned to the ground on Monday morning. Some damage was done to an adjacent mobile home (seen here in background). Photo by Vernon Robison.

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

A small storage structure on Alma Ave. in Overton caught fire in the early morning hours on Monday, June 20. The fire completely destroyed the storage structure at the corner of Alma and Jones and threatened an adjacent mobile home structure on the property. No one was injured in the blaze.

The fire was thought to have started some time before 5:30 a.m. Neighbors in the area reported hearing a loud bang like an explosion and came out to see smoke pouring out of the building.

Volunteer firefighters from Station 74 in Overton received an emergency call at around 5:30 a.m., according to Clark County Fire Department Rural Coordinator, Chief Mike Johnson. Command was established at the scene by Station 74 Chief Matt Nelson at 5:37, Johnson said.

“Seven minutes is the national average of response time for paid stations,” Johnson said. “So for a volunteer station, that kind of response is pretty remarkable.”

Logandale Station 73 was also called to the scene to assist. Johnson said that there was a total of about 10 responders at the scene, all volunteers.

Firefighters said that when they arrived at the scene the storage structure was fully ablaze and extremely hot. They immediately set up a defensive position to protect the adjacent home and to extinguish the blaze.

The mobile home which was located only about 20 feet south of the storage building was already issuing smoke from its north facing eaves, firefighters said. They removed some of the siding from the mobile home and extinguished hot spots that had developed in the walls.

Firefighters estimated that they had gotten the blaze under control by a little after 6:00.

Volunteers from Moapa Station 72 were called to the scene to bring a thermal imaging camera. This device detects hotspots in the structure where they might not otherwise be seen. The Moapa units arrived with the equipment at around 6:30 to help detect and extinguish hotspots in the home and the storage structure.

Clark County Fire Department investigators could not determine a cause of the fire due to the extent of the damage. They estimated that the cost of the damage was $15,000.