Man, woman found dead in house fire in western valley

By Tiffany Gibson

Published Thursday, June 3, 2010 | 6:06 p.m.

Updated Thursday, June 3, 2010 | 9:22 p.m.

Several old newspapers were spread out in the driveway of 5333 Dulce Ave. Thursday afternoon when Denise McBee, 46, went to check on her friends next door.

A mail carrier had told her that smoke was coming from the house, so she hurried to the house and frantically knocked on the front door, McBee said.

It had been three days since she had last seen the couple.

The door was unlocked, so she opened it and was bombarded by a black cloud of smoke, she said. She kept calling out their names but no one responded.

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said another neighbor called 911 at 4:19 p.m. and firefighters responded to the house near West Lake Mead Boulevard and North Michael Way.

He said another neighbor went into the house after hearing about the smoke and found a woman not moving in a back bedroom. He then found a man not moving in the living room, investigators said.

The fire department said 42 cats and one dog were found dead in the house, too.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office will release the cause of the man's and woman's death and their identities pending notification of family members.

“They were great neighbors, and I helped them with whatever they needed,” McBee said.

Neighbors stood outside the house. One man said the loss of the couple was a shock to the neighborhood.

“They were nice people,” he said.

No flames were visible but neighbors said heavy black smoke kept billowing from the house. Most of the damage was in the rear of the home, near the back bedroom, firefighters said.

Friends said the man and woman were a couple in their 70s.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said. The fire appeared accidental, officials said. Numerous extension cords were found in the bedroom where the fire started and their improper use could not be ruled out as a cause, fire officials said.