Former Metro officer killed in house fire

A 21-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department was found dead in a house fire this past weekend.

James Joseph Burritt, 51, was found at the bottom of the staircase Saturday evening after a fire on the 900 block of Cavaison Avenue, near East Silverado Ranch Boulevard and Pollock Drive.

Burritt worked for Metro from 1995 until 2016, the department said Monday.

Public payroll data showed he most recently worked as a corrections officer.

Clark County firefighters were called around 7:15 p.m. Saturday after multiple calls that “the whole house is on fire,” Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Jennifer Wyatt wrote in a statement.

Crews could not immediately get inside the house because of the strength of the fire, Wyatt said.

Burritt was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner’s office around 10 p.m. Saturday. His cause and manner of death had not been determined.

Homicide detectives were investigating Burritt’s death Saturday, but on Monday the department said the case is being handled by arson detectives with the fire department.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.