Las Vegas Firefighters Rescue Woman, Dog from Burning Home

Las Vegas firefighters rescued a woman and a dog from a burning one-story house Thursday.

Crews responded to the residential blaze just before 8 p.m., the department said in a statement. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they noticed smoke pouring from a bedroom at the rear of the house.

Initially, crews tried to get inside the bedroom through a closed door, but something felt like it was holding it shut. Eventually, firefighters were able to open the door and discovered a woman and a large dog laying against it.

Firefighters pulled the woman and dog from the burning house, and a search of the residence found that the fire had started in a bedroom closet. A pile of wood stacked against the side of the house also was on fire, and it appeared that a garden hose had been taken out in an effort to put out the flames.

The woman was taken to the hospital with first- and second-degree burns to her arms, and she also suffered from smoke inhalation. The dog also suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken by animal control.

An occupant at the house told fire investigators that she had discovered the pile of wood burning earlier and had tried to extinguish it with the garden hose. Smoke later began coming from an air duct in another bedroom, and that's when she called 9-1-1.

According to investigators, the fire appeared to have started outside, and flames came in through a small hole in the wall that went into the closet. The fire then spread to the inside of the house. Before that, the woman had gone into the bedroom to take a nap, with the dog following.

The fire, which appears to be accidental, caused about $10,000 in damage.