Apartments damaged by fire had no sprinklers

LAS VEGAS -- There are new details about the building that caught on fire Wednesday afternoon and why the fire spread so fast.

The apartment complex did not have a sprinkler system and it is not required to have one because it was built in the 1970s.

The Americana Apartments were last inspected in 2011 and Clark County found violations. So, a new alarm system was installed, but no sprinklers.

During Wednesday's fire, people had just seconds to escape fast-moving flames.

"We saw the roof collapsing. It was really bad," complex resident Brian Tippett said.

Many who lived in the apartments lost everything.

One day later, people like Kevin Ho are rallying to help. He said many people who lived here couldn't afford to live anywhere else.

"A lot of them were devastated by what happened in the fire. All they have basically is what is on their back," Ho said.

8 News NOW has learned Americana Apartments never had to have sprinklers installed.

"These are not high-rises. The ones we are talking about are only two stories, the Director of Clark County Building and Fire Ron Lynn said.

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Apartments damaged by fire had no sprinklers