Fire destroys Las Vegas shopping complex; 8 businesses damaged, including post office
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County fire crews battled a large fire Friday morning in a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue.
The fire was reported shortly after 8 a.m. at 4632 S. Maryland Parkway. The plaza is known as the University Gardens and houses several businesses, including a post office, which fire officials said was destroyed.
According to the CCFD, the post office was safely evacuated at the start of the fire. Two other businesses affected were believed to have been closed when the fire started.
“We arrived to find the two-story strip mall main center section of the strip mall with heavy fire and smoke showing from the roof,” Clark County Fire Deputy Chief Thomas Touchstone said. “We do have reports it started in the rear.”
Black smoke from the fire could be seen through the Las Vegas valley. Touchstone said Passersby called in the blaze. Most of the businesses in the complex had not opened for the day yet.
No injuries are reported, at this time, Touchstone said. “Right now, we don’t know if there are any victims because we haven’t been able to search the main occupancy, and that’s going to take us a few hours.”
CCFD said they don’t believe any businesses other than the post office were occupied, but have continued to make contact with the other business owners to confirm all employees are accounted for.
University Gardens fire won’t affect mail delivery; office was site of 522 PO boxes
CCFD believes the cause and origin of the fire is still being investigated, but it is believed that the fire may have started on the first floor at the rear of the strip mall. At around 3 p.m. Friday, CCFD said they did not have a dollar loss estimate.
Under heavy flames, the center of the building collapsed, creating a dangerous situation for firefighters. Touchstone said that due to the age of the building, it likely didn’t have a sprinkler system.
Touchstone said crews went into a defensive mode to keep the flames from destroying the north and south ends of the two-story complex. As a result, those portions of the building had minimal damage.
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Overhead view from a plane showing a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025.
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Clark County fire crews battle a large blaze at a business complex across the street from the UNLV campus on Maryland Parkway, near Tropicana Avenue on July 25, 2025. (KLAS)
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Between 100 to 125 firefighters responded, and so did between 40 to 50 Las Vegas Metropolitan police officers.
Metro police closed Maryland Parkway to traffic between Harmon Avenue and University Road until around noon.
The fire was reported to be 90 percent contained at 9:30 a.m. and isn’t posing a threat to other structures in the area, fire officials said.
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