Coroner determines cause of death for children in June 15 trailer fire

Charred hulls of two mobile homes can be seen from Las Vegas Boulevard North, where a morning fire Friday, June 15, 2012, killed three children, all under the age of 3.

By Jackie Valley (contact)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 | 5:20 p.m.

Despite parents’ efforts to save them, 3 children die in mobile home fire (06-15-2012)
Neighbor recounts frantic attempt to rescue children who died in mobile home fire (06-16-2012)

After more than six weeks of tests, the Clark County Coroner’s Office has determined what caused the deaths of three toddlers killed in a mobile home fire.

The three children — David Gouailhardou, 2, Skylar Lafia, 2, and Aryana Lafia, 1 — died from inhalation of products of combustion and the house fire, officials said.

The coroner, however, was not able to pinpoint the children’s manner of death, officials said. Generally speaking, the coroner will rule a death as natural, accidental, a homicide or a suicide.

The fire claimed the toddlers’ lives June 15 when a mobile home at 3610 Las Vegas Blvd. North burst into flames. Clark County firefighters arrived to find the parents unsuccessfully trying to rescue their children, who they said were asleep in a back bedroom of the mobile home when the fire broke out.

The blaze spread to an unoccupied, adjacent home at Van’s Trailer Oasis mobile home park, but no one else was injured. The children’s parents suffered minor injuries and were treated at University Medical Center.

With the release of the coroner’s findings, Metro Police and the Clark County Fire Department will present evidence to the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges will be filed against the parents, Metro spokesman Marcus Martin said.