Space heater blamed in blaze that killed 5-month-old girl

Monday, Dec. 20, 1999 | 12:02 p.m.

Clark County Fire Department officials believe a space heater was the source of a blaze that destroyed a Sandy Valley mobile home and killed a 5-month-old girl Sunday.

County firefighters received a call that a mobile home was on fire at about 2 a.m. in Sandy Valley, a town of 3,500 about 50 miles southwest of Las Vegas on State Route 53.

Investigators believe the space heater may have sparked the fire when it was placed too close to a blanket. The infant's 19-year-old mother was home at the time of the fire, department spokesman Steve La-Sky said.

The fire destroyed the mobile home and also killed the family's three dogs, La-Sky said.

The Henderson Fire Department fought a fire caused by a space heater on Friday, and has since been reminding residents to keep portable heat sources away from flammable material and children.

At about 9:15 a.m. Henderson firefighters arrived at an apartment complex at 358 Twilight Lane, to find heavy smoke pouring from one of the unit's windows.

Investigators believe that the fire was started in a bedroom by children playing with a space heater. The damage to the apartment was estimated at $55,000.