A vacant building in Las Vegas catches fire, causing visible smoke close to The Strat Casino.
A vacant building that used to house M&M Soul Food Café was consumed by flames on Wednesday. Thick smoke wafted from the north end of the Las Vegas Strip.
Firefighters were informed at 12:51 p.m. that large amounts of smoke were emanating from the roof of the unoccupied structure. They swiftly arrived on the scene within four minutes. By 1:37 p.m., various teams from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue successfully put out the fire.
Simultaneously, they worked diligently to stop the blaze from engulfing adjacent properties.
Tough Conditions
The situation was demanding. The dense smoke restricted firefighters' visibility while they combated the inferno. By 3 p.m., the external temperature skyrocketed to 107 degrees. With their heavy and cumbersome uniforms, the firefighters struggled to cope with the oppressive heat while battling both the fire and the smoke.
Moreover, vehicles were halted on a stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue for firefighters to contain the inferno, as reported by Las Vegas TV station KVVU. Commuters were diverted to nearby roads.
The address of the burnt-out venue is 2211 South Las Vegas Boulevard, located south of the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower.
The premises had been vacant following the closure of the restaurant. There seemed to be no one inside the building. The structure was presumably condemned after the eatery shut its doors, as stated by Las Vegas TV station KLAS.
No reports of injuries surfaced. The cause of the blaze remained under investigation until late Wednesday.
The origin of the fire has not been disclosed yet. It was uncertain if it was due to suspicious circumstances.
Earlier Health Violations
M&M Soul Food Café was shut down by the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) in September 2019. It had also been shut down several months earlier.
Health inspectors pinpointed several infractions at the eatery, as reported by Vegas Eater.
The enumerated infractions included: improper hand washing, unclean kitchenware, uncovered insulation exposed within the freezer, bags of cut collard greens kept at unsafe temperatures, and a worker wearing soiled gloves handling bread. Furthermore, a strain of mold was spotted in the ice machine, insects of unknown species were noticeable on bulk flour, and the obligatory report card was not displayed at the establishment, according to the report.
In addition, on July 19, 2019, the SNHD mandated the restaurant to close again due to analogous violations, the report revealed.
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