Father, son killed in house fire ignited by boat explosion

By Brian Nordli

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 | 10:55 p.m.

A teenage boy and his father were killed and three others were hospitalized Thursday after a boat explosion caught a home on fire near Carey Avenue and Revere Street.

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said witnesses saw the father working on his boat when there was an explosion. The father caught fire and sprinted inside the home. His wife went to retrieve a garden hose to put him out, while the son sprinted to his bedroom to call 911, Szymanski said.

Then came the second explosion. A thick column of black smoke rose as flames, fueled by gasoline vapors, engulfed the front of the home, Szymanski said.

Around 6:40 p.m., when firefighters arrived at the home at 850 Bartlett Ave., there was a 20-foot wall of fire, Syzmanski said. The mother was escorted to safety, but the teen was trapped in his bedroom, pounding on his window for help.

A nearby North Las Vegas Police officer and Metro Police officer who were on patrol noticed the fire and attempted to rescue the teen. They scampered over the back wall to his window and worked to break the security bars that covered it, Szymanski said.

They retrieved the boy — unconscious from the black smoke that consumed the home — and attempted to revive him. But it was too late. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Three minutes later, firefighters found the father dead near the front of the home, Szymanski said.

It took firefighters 15 minutes to contain the flames, Szymanski said.

Szymanski said the two police officers were taken to UMC for smoke inhalation. The woman was also taken to UMC for emotional distress.