Fire forces evacuation at Tarkanian Basketball Academy

A fire Friday night at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy forced the evacuation of up to 100 people, the Las Vegas Fire Department said.

Fire crews were called about 9:30 p.m. to the two-story building, at 2730 S. Rancho Drive, but when crews arrived they found the fire outside the building under a steel staircase. A concrete wall kept the fire from spreading inside the building, according to a news release from the department.

Some smoke did get inside the building, and about 60 to 100 people were evacuated by Metropolitan Police Department officers, the fire department said.

Once everyone was evacuated, firefighters used “large fans” to force the smoke outside. There was no damage to the inside of the building, but there was some damage to the exterior wall and a storage area underneath the staircase, the department said.

The department did not estimate a cost to the damage.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation early Saturday, the department said. No injuries were reported.

Further information was not immediately available.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.