Fires strike two western LV homes

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 9:38 a.m.

Two fires, minutes apart, caused more than $100,000 in damage Thursday to two homes in western Las Vegas.

Two Las Vegas men suffered minor burns after a fire in their home, Las Vegas Fire Dept. spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

When firefighters arrived about 12:50 p.m. at the home in the 2800 block of Edge Rock Circle, near Desert Inn Road and Hualapai Way, the garage of the one-story wood frame and stucco house was in flames. An automobile inside the garage was also aflame, Szymanski said.

The two men told investigators that one of them was working on the car in the garage when it caught fire. Investigators believe that gasoline fumes from the engine ignited, possible ignited by a nearby battery charger that was on.

Both men were treated and released for minor burns.

The fire was confined to the garage; the rest of the house had minor heat and smoke damage estimated at $60,000.

The American Red Cross is assisting three adults who live in the house.

A child playing with a cigarette lighter ignited a fire that damaged a northwest Las Vegas home nine minutes after the first one was reported, authorities said.

The boy and his grandmother escaped the burning home in the 1900 block of Plumas Court near West Lake Mead and Decatur boulevards about 1 p.m.

Firefighters found an upstairs bedroom in the two-story house on fire, Szymanski said.

The flames were confined to one bedroom, and the rest of the house had moderate smoke damage. Damage are estimated at $45,000.

The American Red Cross was assisting an adult and four children who had been living at the home.