West valley homeowner fights fire with garden hose

By Jackie Valley

Friday, June 13, 2014 | 8:36 a.m.

A house fire Thursday night in the western valley displaced five people and caused $125,000 damage, officials said.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue received multiple calls starting at 9:21 p.m. of a fire at 132 Huntly Road, near Buffalo and Westcliff drives. Firefighters arrived to find the second floor engulfed in flames, officials said.

The occupants initially thought someone was still inside the house, but firefighters later determined the missing person had gotten out unnoticed, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. The homeowner was taken to the hospital suffering from minor smoke inhalation.

The blaze was so intense that a battalion chief ordered firefighters out of the second floor, fearing the roof might collapse, Szymanski said. After bringing the fire under control from outside, firefighters re-entered and mounted an interior attack.

The homeowner apparently tried to douse the upstairs flames with a garden hose, but a neighbor, who is a retired wildland firefighter, convinced the owner to get out, Szymanski said. The fire was too far along to extinguish by themselves.

It appears the fire started in a second-floor bathroom. Fire officials have not determined the cause.

The fire gutted the upstairs of the house and damaged the roof, Szymanski said.

The American Red Cross was assisting the occupants.