Fire leaves family homeless

Monday, June 2, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

A Las Vegas family was left homeless after their house was destroyed by one of two morning fires.

One of two adult occupants of the home in the 7100 block of Pine Lake Road, near Antelope Way and Alta Drive, told fire investigators that she had returned home early Sunday morning from working all night and smoked a cigarette before leaving to pick up her two small children who had stayed overnight at a baby sitter's residence.

"When she returned, she saw smoke coming from the garage," said Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski.

The woman ran to a neighbor's home to call 911 at 6:57 a.m. as the fire quickly destroyed the garage. Firefighters arrived and were able to prevent the fire from spreading through the rest of the single-story home, although the residence did sustain heat and smoke damage.

Investigators have ruled the fire as accidental. Damage has been estimated at $35,000.

About two hours later, city firefighters were racing to the 800 block of Peacock Court, near Charleston Boulevard and Buffalo Drive, where an electrical problem ignited another house fire.

Neighbors banging on the front door about 9:15 a.m. Sunday awoke the resident, who was able to escape from the smoky single-story home. Seven fire units and 23 firefighters arrived minutes later and confined the blaze to the attic. The rest of the house sustained smoke and heat damage. Total damage has been estimated at $25,000. No injuries were reported.