'There's no Survivability in that Structure,' Clark County, NV, Fire Chief John Steinbeck says
Las Vegas Review-Journal
(TNS)
A mother and child jumped from a third-story window and up to four people were missing after a home caught fire Thursday morning in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, officials said.
Crews were called just before 4:10 a.m. to a fire at 8332 Langhorne Creek Street, near the area of West Windmill Lane and South Jones Boulevard, according to Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck.
Steinbeck told reporters that two of those unaccounted for could be children. He said extended family of the victims had been notified, but could not confirm whether the four unaccounted for had died.
“We do know that if anybody was inside at this point in time that they did not survive,” Steinbeck said in a press conference Thursday morning.
“There’s no survivability in that structure right now,” he added.
The two who jumped from the window were treated for injuries and taken to University Medical Center. Their conditions were stabilized.
Neighbors report explosion
Steinbeck said that neighbors reported hearing an explosion during the fire, and that the investigation was still determining whether there was an explosion in the house.
Steinbeck said that he expected crews to be on the scene for at least 24 hours and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
The first units found that the home had flames emerging from all windows on the second and third floors, a fire department release stated. Crews tried to get to the second floor through the front door but were pushed out from the heat.
They determined they could search the first floor by cutting through the garage door, and they conducted a quick search on the bottom level of the home. But firefighters had to evacuate when the second floor started to collapse onto them.
“The floors are completely burned through,” Steinbeck said.
The roof, third floor and second floor all collapsed into a debris field in the garage.
Homes in the neighborhood were equipped with smoke alarms, but Steinbeck said that he could not confirm whether the alarms in the house that caught fire had been activated.
Firefighters initially prioritized protecting nearby threatened homes, the release said. A second-alarm response was called just before 4:20 a.m.
The fire had damaged the immediate nearby homes, even breaking the window of one nearby home, Steinbeck said Thursday morning.
“It did break out the windows of one home next to it, but the crews were able to keep it from extending severe damage to either of the structures on either side,” Steinbeck said.
People in neighboring homes were evacuated, and have not returned while the investigation continued.
Steinbeck stressed for the public to practice evacuation routes, especially with children in preparation of emergencies.
‘It’s a tragedy’
Neighbors told the Review-Journal the fire was dramatic, with heavy smoke and large flames.
“It was really scary,” said Rayna Kay, who lives behind the home that burned.
Around 4 a.m., Kay heard the sound of screaming, which she initially thought might be a domestic dispute. She said she also heard “loud popping” that sounded like gunshots. A woman whom Kay thought had jumped or run out of the house was knocking on doors trying to get help, she said.
“They couldn’t get the fire to stop,” she said. “It just kept going. It was raging.”
She said she didn’t know the family who lived in the house, but would see them and thought they looked like nice people.
Jessie Tiseo said she heard sirens and was curious about what was going on. She went to investigate.
“It was just huge,” she said. “There were sparks coming out of the top of it. It was a fire that looked like something you see in a movie.”
Daniel Ceballos said the flames of the fire went about a story above the house.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said.
Nick Lewis said the fire filled his street with smoke. “It looked bad,” he said, and he prayed that no one was hurt.
Chris Zabriskie, who lives near the house that burned, said he woke up around 4 or 4:30 to let his dog out and noticed the reflection of lights in his window. Then, around 6 or 6:30, he said, he opened his door and was greeted by smoke so strong he had to go back inside.
“I’m shocked,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
©2024 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
