Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

fire investigation:

3 children, adult killed in Pahrump house fire

Pahrump House Fire

Christopher DeVargas

Lt. Steve Moody of Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue inspects a house at 3421 Prospector Lane, Pahrump, after a fire that left one adult and three children dead on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011.

Updated Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011 | 12:45 a.m.

Pahrump House Fire

Lt. Steve Moody of Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue inspects a house at 3421 Prospector Lane, Pahrump, after a fire that left one adult and three children dead on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Launch slideshow »

Pahrump fire

KSNV coverage of deadly Pahrump fire, Feb. 9, 2011.

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PAHRUMP -- Three young boys and a babysitter were killed in a house fire Wednesday in Pahrump as thick, black smoke prompted several neighbors to rush to the home in an attempt to rescue those inside. At least four people were injured during the rescue efforts.

Pahrump Valley firefighters responded at 9:30 a.m. to the fire at 3421 Prospector Lane. Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the windows of the home, fire chief Scott Lewis said.

Several neighbors and an off-duty firefighter tried to rescue the victims before firefighters arrived. Lewis said one child was being removed from the home when officials got to the scene.

Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo said all three boys killed in the fire were under age 4. He said the 24-year-old female babysitter was on the telephone with Nye County emergency dispatchers when she died.

DeMeo said the intensity of the fire in the double-wide mobile home turned rescuers back.

Lewis said firefighters went through a window of the home to conduct a search for possible victims. He said the three boys initially were found dead, then the woman was discovered at the other end of the house.

At least four people were injured during the rescue efforts.

Lewis said the off-duty firefighter was being treated for injuries at a Las Vegas hospital with unknown injuries. A Pahrump Valley firefighter who suffered burn injuries was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.

Authorities said two Nye County sheriff's deputies were treated for smoke inhalation and were hospitalized in good condition.

Neighbor Mike Rhoads said five children lived at the house with two women, one of whom was babysitting the three children who were killed.

Neighbor Roger Taylor said he went inside the house as black smoke was pouring out to try to rescue anyone inside, but he couldn’t. He said several neighbors rushed to the house after seeing smoke, including some who had water hoses and tried to extinguish the blaze.

“I was sitting in my chair and all of a sudden it went black,” Taylor said. “The smoke from the fire made my house go black. My son and I both ran over there to find the mother running frantically back and forth.”

Rhoads said the mother was yelling for someone to rescue her baby, who was still in the crib. Taylor, with the aid of his son David and Rhoads, climbed into the house through a window but he immediately had to go back outside for fresh air.

“I got halfway through the window and the smoke knocked me back, choked me out and I was in the front yard for the rest of the time on my knees, choking, coughing and puking,” Taylor said.

Investigators with the state fire marshal's office were en route to the home Wednesday afternoon from Carson City.

Pahrump is about 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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