FFs Battle 4-Alarm Blaze at Construction Site for NV Apartments

July 24, 2020
Crews from Sparks, Carson City and Truckee Meadows helped Reno firefighters put out a blaze that destroyed or damaged nearly half the buildings in an apartment complex under construction.

Firefighters from multiple departments battled a four-alarm blaze that tore through nearly half of the buildings of an apartment complex under construction Wednesday.

The fire broke out shortly after 3:15 a.m. at the construction site for the Espirit Townhomes in Reno, KTVN-TV reports. Flames destroyed or heavily damaged 12 of the 21 buildings in the complex

Crews from Sparks, Carson City and Truckee Meadows assisted Reno firefighters, with 17 engines, four aerials and two rescue units responding to the scene, according to KOLO-TV. Authorities evacuated neighboring homes as a precaution and made sure embers from the fire didn't spread to nearby vegetation.

“We tapped out the water supply extremely quick," Division Chief John McNamara told KOLO. "We tapped the water source for this area. We could not get any more pressure. We used what we had, and that was it. We had to alter some of our tactics to just account for the fact that there’s not a lot of hydrants close by.”

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.