Woman dies in bedroom fire

By Brian Nordli

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 | 7:40 p.m.

An elderly woman was found unconscious in her bathtub, and later pronounced dead after her bedroom caught fire around 6 p.m. on Thursday at 704 Wilson Ave. near H Street and Bonanza Road, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue official Tim Szymanski said.

Szymanski said firefighters arrived within two minutes after the fire was reported. They found flames blowing out her bedroom window, and the woman fully clothed but unconscious in her empty bathtub, Szymanski said.

Firefighters removed her from the home and put the flames out in less than one minute. Only a quarter of the mattress and its headboard were burnt, and heat and smoke affected about half the bedroom totaling about $10,000 in damage, Szymanski said.

But the real damage was already done.

Firefighters administered advanced life support on the women and transported her to University Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, Szymanski said.

A firefighter speculated that she may have caught fire in her bed and sprinted to the bathroom, which is connected to her bedroom, to put the flames out, but the fumes from her clothes catching fire knocked her unconscious, Szymanski said.

Szymanski said the official cause of the incident is still under investigation, Metro Police Homicide and the Clark County Coroner’s Office, which is standard for a fatal fire.