Candles may have caused cottage fire

Thursday, March 3, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue investigators say candles may be to blame for a fire that caused about $100,000 in damage to an eastern Las Vegas cottage early this morning.

It was the second fire overnight estimated to cause damage estimated to be $100,000.

Fire crews were called to the home in the 2500 block of Sunrise Street, near Charleston Boulevard and Eastern Avenue, about 1 a.m. by neighbors who reported flames shooting from a one-story wood-frame house.

The home was later determined to be a guest house behind another home, firefighters said. The blaze was extinguished before it could spread beyond the bedroom, where it was believed to have started.

The home's owner, who rented the cottage to the man believed to be living there when the fire started, said electricity to the structure had recently been shut off due to nonpayment. Firefighters were unable to contact the tenant, they said.

Crews continued trying this morning to reach the tenant to determine if candles were used to light the house.

No injuries were reported.

Heat from a metal chimney pipe for a fireplace was responsible for a fire that started about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in a western Las Vegas home, fire crews said.

There were no injuries in that fire, which started on the 9700 block of Floweret Avenue. One person was displaced in the blaze, estimated to cause about $100,000 to the two-story house, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said.