Families of couple killed in Las Vegas fire sue apartment complex

The families of a couple who died in a July apartment fire filed a lawsuit Monday against the apartment complex.

In July, a fire at Riverbend Village Apartments killed Vincent Herrera, 23, and Kameron Moore, 24. Four people were hospitalized for burns and other injuries, and 30 residents were displaced by the blaze.

The lawsuit was filed in District Court by Ronise and Theodore Herrera, the parents of Vincent Herrera, and Melissa Couture and Kevin Moore, the parents of Kameron Moore. The defendants were the Riverbend Village Partners, LLC and its managing members and Advanced Management Group Nevada LLC, the property management group, as well as two of its managing agents.

It makes six claims, including negligence and wrongful death.

Neither company could be reached Monday night.

“They want some answers,” Attorney Jamie Cogburn, who represents the plaintiffs, said. “But more importantly, they don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”

Fatal fire

The fire started on the patio of the unit directly below Moore’s, according to the complaint. The lawsuit said that one or more employees saw the fire starting but were not adequately trained on proper fire safety protocol.

“Due to Owner Defendants’ negligent management and training practices, Defendants’ employee(s) did not warn any of the tenants about the fire, did not sound an alarm and did not use a fire extinguisher,” the complaint said.

The complaint said that the building did not have a pull fire alarm station, but that another building in the complex did.

“Owner Defendants acted with disregard for the health and safety of their tenants and with prior knowledge that the building materials, combined with the conditions present in Las Vegas, rendered the building a dangerous fire hazard,” the complaint said.

At least six fires in the complex have occurred since 2008, four of which were in the last seven years, the complaint said.

“Owner Defendants knew that the property was ill-prepared for fires, was prone to fires and lacked reasonably required safety features,” the complaint said.

Family mourns loss

Moore lived in the apartment since September 2020, according to the complaint.

Ronise Herrera said in July that her son was dating Moore and spent most weekends at the apartment.

“Until July 28, 2024, Kameron and Vincent were young, intelligent, artistic men with bright futures,” the lawsuit said.

In July, Ronise Herrera described her son as someone with a big heart, who cared deeply about art and books. He left behind four younger brothers.

Moore’s supervisor at Giving Home Health Care, described him as “super smart.”

The Clark County Fire Department found Moore unresponsive with first- through third-degree burns covering half of his body, according to the complaint.

The fire department did not find Herrera at first. Ronise Herrera went to the apartment the next day and told them to go back in. They eventually found his body — over half of which was covered in first- through third- degree burns — under debris, the complaint said.

Both were pronounced dead from asphyxia and carbon monoxide toxicity, according to the complaint.

“The way the fire spread you would’ve almost thought somebody poured gasoline on it,” Cogburn said. “They want some accountability.”

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.