Coroner’s office IDs all 6 victims of Alpine Motel fire in Las Vegas
The Clark County coroner’s office has identified the six victims killed Saturday in a fire at the Alpine Motel Apartments in downtown Las Vegas, the deadliest residential fire in city history.
They were Henry Lawrence Pinc, 70; Tracy Ann Cihal, 57; Francis Lombardo Jr., 72; Cynthia Mikell, 61; Donald Keith Bennett, 63; and Kerry Baclaan, 46. All of the victims were Las Vegas residents, according to the coroner’s office.
It could take up to two months to determine the cause and manner of death for the victims.
Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski has said that three of them died inside the building, one was found on the sidewalk outside and one died at a hospital. Information was not immediately available on the sixth person.
At least two of the victims — Mikell and Cihal — required walkers to get around. Both were found dead in the hallway on the ground floor, according to their family and friends.
Bennett, the building’s maintenance worker, was credited for saving tenants Saturday morning when he ran down the halls to pound on doors and alert residents of the fire, which left 13 more injured — five critically, including a pregnant woman — and nearly 50 without a home.
The Fire Department first received reports of the blaze shortly after 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived at the three-story building at 213 N. 9th St., they found residents jumping from the 41-unit building and others hanging out the windows, described by some tenants as a last resort after trying to escape through smoke-filled and locked stairwells.
Built in 1972, the building was equipped with smoke detectors but did not have a sprinkler system, according to the Fire Department.
State business and county property records show that the building has been owned by Adolfo Orozco since at least 2013.
Attempts to reach Orozco since the fire have been unsuccessful, but on Saturday, a woman named Malinda Mier identified herself to the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a co-owner of the property.
At the time, she stated that the building had a “fire escape” and that each room had a smoke detector. But some residents have said their smoke detectors were not functional.
It is believed that the fire was accidental and started in a stove inside a first-floor unit, Las Vegas Fire Marshal Robert Nolan said Monday, although Las Vegas police homicide detectives have opened a criminal investigation into the blaze.
Residents affected by the fire who have not yet received assistance can call 1-800-RED-CROSS or 855-891-7325.
The Downtown Vegas Alliance has created a GoFundMe account with a $25,000 goal to benefit the victims. Donations for new socks, underwear, clothing, shoes, toiletries and toys also will be collected through Friday and can be dropped off at The Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.