Blaze from fireworks displaces 4
Officials lay blame on nearby revelers
Neighbors setting off illegal fireworks in a central Las Vegas community are likely responsible for a blaze that displaced a family of four Sunday night, officials said.
The family was not participating in the nearby fireworks display and did not own any fireworks, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.
The three adults and one infant were settled into their home at 602 Madison Ave., near Washington Avenue and Interstate 15, about 9:40 p.m. when one man, who was about to take a shower, heard a big boom. He then noticed an orange flicker just outside his bathroom’s frosted-glass window.
“A bush was on fire, and the fire kept getting bigger,” Szymanski said.
FIRE
The man grabbed a gallon of water and poured it all over the bush but didn’t extinguish the flames, Szymanski said. Quickly, the man tried to hook up a garden hose to douse the blaze, but it spread too quickly.
By the time fire crews showed up, the flames had shot up an exterior wall and ignited the attic.
“We had to rip the ceiling down,” Szymanski said. “It was all black.”
As illegal fireworks continued to pop overhead, it took crews 30 minutes to extinguish the smoldering blaze, which caused about $55,000 in damage. No one was burned, but a person with a history of respiratory
issues was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Szymanski said this was the first fireworks-related house fire of the season in Las Vegas.
“We haven’t had fireworks-related house fires for the last couple of years,” Szymanski said, adding that the decrease is likely because wood shingles are less common.
Still, for the next few days, Szymanski said, a homeowner’s best defense is a good offense. That means having garden hoses hooked up and ready in case a tree or bush catches fire. It also means overwatering
plants so they are less likely to catch fire and removing trash or leaves from yards.
“Most of the calls where people sustain property damage from fireworks, they weren’t using the fireworks,” Szymanski said. “They were just innocent bystanders.”
The Southern Nevada Red Cross is helping the displaced family.
Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter. Review-journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this story. Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.