Fire dispatchers received numerous 9-1-1 calls at 12:53 AM Thursday morning that the roof of the Buffet @ Asia restaurant located at 2380 S. Rainbow Blvd was on fire. When firefighters arrived, they found flames on the roof over the front door of the 1-story wood frame building that once was the Hungry Hunter steak house. It took firefighters less than ten minutes to put the blaze out.
Damage from the fire was confined to an outside area around a neon sign over the front entrance of the building. The fire extended into the attic through some vents and did minor damage. There was no damage to the interior eating or preparation area of the restaurant. Damage was estimated at $10,000.
Fire investigators believe the fire started around the neon sign on the front of the building and was electrical in nature. One possibility is the sign shorted out after rainwater seeped into the sign. It rained in the area around 5:30 PM Wednesday afternoon and possibly shorted and then smoldered for several hours before breaking out into flames.
There were no injuries in connection with the incident. The Clark County Health District was going to inspect the restaurant to see if they could open for business in the next day or two.
