Fire destroys house under construction

David Kihara

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

Fire destroyed a 5,000-square-foot house under construction in a gated community in Henderson on Monday.

Two firefighters received minor burns in the fire in the 1700 block of Harpsichord Way in the Roma Hills neighborhood. Henderson Fire Department officials said this morning that they were still investigating the cause of the blaze.

"It was a total loss," said Jeff Lytle, battalion chief with the Henderson Fire Department, who estimated the damage was at about $900,000. "We had to bring in heavy equipment to knock down remaining walls that created a collapse potential."

When the fire department arrived on the scene a little after 5:45 p.m., they saw 40- to 50-foot flames engulfing the structure, Lytle said.

Neighbors said that houses in the neighborhood cost upwards of one million dollars.

Thirty-two fire personnel responded to the fire along with five fire engines, one ladder truck, to paramedic rescues and other support personnel.

Operations were complicated by a gas line, which was exposed and ruptured because of the intense heat. Power and gas officials also responded to the fire to secure the utilities lines, Lytle said.

Lytle said there was very little chance of saving the house when the fire department arrived, and the firefighters spent much of their time attempting to prevent other exposed houses from catching fire.

He said the fire was fueled in part by the home's insulation, exposed wood and the strong winds of the day.

"It was a two-story house that was in the stick phase, but (the construction company) was putting in sheetrock and getting ready to put on the stucco," Lytle said.

Heavy winds that fanned the fire luckily were blowing away from the house next door.

The owner of that house, John Kiland, said his home suffered some minor damage from the intense heat of the fire. His home had five or six cracked windows and some minor damage to molding, he said.

"The wind was in our favor," he said.

A woman identified as the owner of the burning home was seen rushing toward the house at approximately 6 p.m. She declined to comment after the fire was put out an hour later.

Neighbors said the house was nearing completion. Lytle said investigators were interviewing the construction crew that had been working at the house earlier in the day.